Defining Independence
by sweetheartbreaker
Summary: Moving out of her parents' house was her biggest decision and she had to prove that she could survive. Ga Eul looked for a job and landed in a situation that would keep leaving her breathless.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Are you sure? Are you really _really really _sure about this?"

Jan Di sounded nervous. And concerned. Her eyebrows were curled at the center of her forehead and her cheeks were puffed up, Ga Eul was sure of it. She knew that much, even if Jan Di was only on the phone because, well, they've been best friends for as long as any of them could remember.

"You know I'm not sure," Ga Eul said dejectedly, as she tried to balance her phone on one hand, and her bag on the other arm while trying to scan her surroundings, looking at numbers on the gates of the houses, trying to find one specifically. "But, I don't know... I just want to try. If I get in trouble, I'll handle the consequences myself."

"Ga Eul, I know you want to show your parents that you're independent and whatnot, but this is black market!"

"It's not! The client sounded sane. Professional even," Ga Eul said, her attention divided to find the house and to contradict whatever Jan Di was telling her, and she wasn't doing a good job at the latter, because whatever Jan Di was saying was everything the back of her mind was telling her.

"You found this information on the _internet_," Jan Di said like it was the worst source of information in the world, and part of Ga Eul agreed, especially about jobs. Jobs found on the internet were more or less deceitful, with less information anyone would want to know, and to gain access to the information, you had to make direct contact with the person who posted the job, which was what Ga Eul did despite Jan Di's attempts to discourage her.

The man who met her looked far better than professional. He looked... immaculate, if that was even a proper term to describe a person in black. His eyes were calculating like he was analyzing her every move, and although he looked very secretive, Ga Eul knew that she wasn't applying to a hoax. Or at least, that's what she's been telling herself the last few days.

"I told you I'm fine. It'll take me, what? 2-3 hours in here and then I'll be off!" The second I know, _or even suspect,_ something's out of place, I'll ran like an ostrich out of there," Ga Eul said, sounding more confident and determined than how she actually felt.

She could hear Jan Di's exasperation over the line. "Ga Eulie, you might be already shipped to Africa and you still wouldn't suspect anything as long as they'll be smiling at you."

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "If you're referring to that _one_ incident in third grade..."

"Exactly what I'm referring to!"

"We were in third grade!"

"You were _this_ close to getting kidnapped and killed!"

"I was _not_!" Ga Eul countered, putting all the emphasis she could muster on a single word, but in the end, she knew Jan Di was right. "And you wouldn't have known they were going to kill me!" When Jan Di answered with silence, she added, "They had _candy_! And I was in _third grade!_ Geum Jan Di, you've been bullying me for candy until _high school!_"

"Ga Eulie, I'm just saying..."

Ga Eul sighed, understanding Jan Di being the overprotective best friend that she is. "I know, Jan Di. But I'm a big girl now. I'll take care of myself, I promise." When Jan Di didn't answer, Ga Eul pulled the last ace she had from her cards. "I'll make you a deal. If today didn't work out well, I won't return on Wednesday."

"Define 'didn't work out well'," Jan Di said, but Ga Eul could already feel the nudge from her best friend's strong will.

"Like they don't give me snacks, or they don't smile too much. Or they negotiate for the pay. Or they are just really hard to teach. Or they offer me candy to get inside a suspicious-looking van."

"Or you get lost and don't find the house..."

Ga Eul frowned and began looking more earnestly for the house again. "Alright," she said slowly. "That works, too."

She could feel Jan Di cave when the heavy I-know-I-can't-convince-you-anymore sigh came. "Alright, Ga Eul. I put my full trust in you."

Ga Eul smiled, and turned the next street. "Is that a 'Deal'?"

"Yes," Jan Di said, although she sounded very dejected.

"You should have done that a long... wait, I think I found..."

Her voice trailed off when her eyes, although distracted, landed on the the three numbers that marked the gate of the house she was supposed to find. She narrowed her eyes at the gold-colored numbers which looked eerily like genuine gold-plated numbers, which would be stupid and a waste of...

She looked beyond the tall gates to find the house, _Is that even a house_, she was supposed to visit MWF every 5-7 pm to work.

"Ga Eulie?" Now she's got Jan Di even more worried. "Are you ok? Yah! Ga Eul! Chu Ga Eul!"

"I'm fine, Jan Di. I'm perfectly fine... But, I might have to call you back."

With that she, she shut her phone off and gaped at the mansion that stood in front of her. She wasn't sure how wide it was, but she was sure the gate and walls had taken almost the whole street, and the mansion stood behind it in all its glory, like the candy house Hansel and Gretel went to when they were lost.

It was amazing, and frightening at the same time.

She straightened the most formal clothes she found in her closet, and tried to stand higher and walked right to the gate. She checked her watch and found that she was still a bit early. The guards, after she introduced herself and gaining confirmation from the inside through invisible earpieces, opened the side gate where a car could have fit, and not a house if ever it would be needed to rolled in the garage.

Ga Eul couldn't even pay attention to the maids giving her directions from out to inside the mansion because of the grandeur of everything else. That's until she was already face-to-face with her client, a girl who looked no more than one or two years older than she was, with bright eyes and a pleasant smile that would make anyone take a second look if she would pass by the street, although Ga Eul suspected the girl didn't take the regular streets.

Ga Eul bowed deeply and introduced herself for the nth time that hour. "Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm Chu Ga Eul, a European Languages Major sophomore of the Shin Hwa University."

The older girl also bowed and smiled at her. "A pleasure to meet you, Chu Ga Eul. I'm Cha Eun Jae," She looked at Ga Eul clothes and seemed to suppress a wider smile. "Shall we?" she asked as she pointed towards a spacious study room where there was a huge table that could have catered to a business meeting if it needed to, a whiteboard and some markers on the table. At the other side of the room were two smaller tables that Ga Eul could only guess as used for pottery with all the clay and earthy scent in the room.

Ga Eul's heart was pounding loudly, half looking out for something out of place, half blown away with everything she saw. She knew immediately with Eun Jae there was nothing really to be nervous about. She was as nice as she looked, and even lead her to the chairs and had snacks prepared for the two of them even when they haven't even started yet.

"Miss Eun Jae-"

"Please, just Eun Jae," Eun Jae said as they sat and she poured them some tea while Ga Eul laid down her notebooks and pens on the table. When Ga Eul looked surprised at the request, Eun Jae amended, "Unni then, if you think you'll be more comfortable that way."

"Eun Jae-unni, um, if you don't mind me asking, why not hire someone professional to teach you instead?" Ga Eul clamped her mouth immediately when the question left her lips, Jan Di's voice echoing in her mind saying, '_Oh, Ga Eulie. You're really _too_ innocent.' _It's as if she's asking Eun Jae to fire her... on her first day of work. But to her defense, she did feel out of place in the situation, and surely Eun Jae could have afforded a more expensive yet professional teacher.

Eun Jae only smiled as she took the liberty of browsing through Ga Eul's notes. "I want to give college students a chance. I'm pretty sure you need the money," she said, to which Ga Eul nodded slightly, unable to disagree. "And Jo Kwon said you were capable."

Jo Kwon was the person who met her for the 'interview' and gave her the address and everything else she needed to know. She wondered how that man was able to find out about Ga Eul's Swedish speaking capabilities.

"Jo Kwon is sharp. He recognizes confidence and strength even in little forms," Eun Jae said as if reading her mind. "And he said you looked very sure of yourself, especially when you talked about your major."

Ga Eul smiled. She didn't even realize that herself. She would have to thank Mr. Jo Kwon later for the ego boost and for putting in a good word for her to Eun Jae. With that Ga Eul realized that she should not disappoint Jo Kwon nor Eun Jae. She would be paid, and she would have to be worth it. "Shall we begin then, unni?" she asked with a smile that was more confident than the one she had when she got in the room.

Eun Jae was nodding, when there was a knock on the half-opened sliding door, and a smiling face peered in. "I was looking for you."

Ga Eul's jaw dropped open, and she couldn't even will it to close even after realizing it. It didn't matter, she supposed. He wasn't even looking at her.

But he was still there.

So Yi Jeong. F4 member. One of the top students of the Shin Hwa University. Majoring in Fine Arts. Third year. 5'11" in height without insoles. Virgo. Spoke four languages, and currently learning his fifth. Pottery prodigy. Received four national pottery awards and six world renowned international awards.

The information overloaded Ga Eul's brain.

Chu Ga Eul. Inactive member of the So Yi Jeong fans' club.

She cursed herself. She was an _inactive _member because she was already trying to get over So Yi Jeong because she knew there was not a slight chance for her to even just see him in person, but now that she had, up and personal even, she knew then and there she wasn't even that close to getting over him.

Somehow, Chu Ga Eul found her lungs again and managed to breath.

"Oh, I thought I told you I'd be getting tutored from today," Eun Jae said, with the same bright smile Yi Jeong had on his face. "Yi Jeongie, this is Chu Ga Eul. She's a Language Major. Guess from where."

The course of time Eun Jae was talking was the amount of time it took Yi Jeong to cross the room to where they were. Ga Eul stood up upon introduction but Yi Jeong barely looked at her, and it seemed that Eun Jae saw the lack of interest in his eyes which caused her to ask him to guess where Ga Eul's from.

Yi Jeong briefly, a part of a second, looked at her before placing his attention back to Eun Jae, but Ga Eul was surprised at, number one, the effect his quick gaze gave her knees which immediately felt like jelly, (she should not have stood up), and number two, his answer afterwards. "She's too young to be a professional, or a teacher, or maybe that's just me, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't hire anyone but someone in college, and she doesn't strike me as a Seoul U kind of girl. And since you asked... Ah," Yi Jeong laughed in realization. "Shin Hwa U, of course."

The F4 also attended Shin Hwa University, but they were rarely sighted by anyone ordinary, like Ga Eul.

"That's five points for Mr. So Yi Jeong," Eun Jae mimed writing down Yi Jeong's new recitation bonus, and Yi Jeong chuckled and kissed her on the cheeks.

Somehow, Ga Eul felt awkward standing there. Sure, she felt like she's intruding something extremely personal, and she did feel that way. A minor part of her that is. A major part of her is, like any fangirl in her shoes, shattered. She _should_ _have known_ that So Yi Jeong already had a girlfriend, maybe if she was still active, she should have, but now that she's seeing So Yi Jeong with his girlfriend in the flesh without prior knowledge, she felt stabbed and trampled on. And she congratulated herself because she was stabbed and trampled on with a smile on her face.

When Eun Jae pinched Yi Jeong to get him back his manners, Ga Eul took the chance to bow at So Yi Jeong (a rare chance for any fangirl out there), and check if he really did wear socks in his slippers like the rumors went and confirmed that he did not. He was wearing socks, and only socks.

"A pleasure," she said a little too breathlessly. "Mr. So."

Yi Jeong bowed slightly, giving her another part-of-a-second glance, and said, "Just Yi Jeong," before staring at Eun Jae again.

"Yi Jeong," Ga Eul repeated nonetheless, grabbing every opportunity God has blessed her with at the moment.

"Don't be to hard on Eun Jae too much," he said without looking at her. It should have been a disappointment since she did want to stare at his eyes for longer, but it was already a miracle that he was talking to her directly. "Her English is faulty. Swedish would be..."

"Yi Jeongie," Eun Jae complained as they watched Yi Jeong walk back to the door.

Yi Jeong had a mischievous smile on. He seemed to be enjoying teasing his girlfriend. "Love you."

Eun Jae scrunched up her nose, obviously annoyed at their display of affection in front of a stranger, but still said, "Love you, too."

The door was just about closing behind him when the miracle of all miracles happened, So Yi Jeong said, "Nice meeting you, Ga Eul-yang," and winked at Ga Eul as if they were sharing some sort of secret.

While Ga Eul's fangirl heart did a victory dance (_-yang! He called me Ga Eul-yang!_), her human heart strangled her fangirl heart for being... fangirl-y. So Yi Jeong was unavailable, so Operation: Move On was definitely a go, and if Eun Jae ever found out about Ga Eul's ultimate crush on her boyfriend, she would get fired. Might be fired. Whatever.

"Uh... Ga Eul?"

Ga Eul sat down immediately, only now realizing that she had been standing up for a time that was not socially acceptable. She found Eun Jae smiling too wildly at her, that she immediately went on to explain about her behavior. "I, um, I'm sorry... he's like a superstar at school... I'm a bit starstruck," she said, which was half true.

Eun Jae nodded but still had a knowing smile on her face as she turned back to the notes. "Whatever you say, Ga Eul."

Three hours later, Ga Eul found out that Yi Jeong was wrong. Eun Jae was fairly easy to teach because she was patient and she didn't call Ga Eul off every time she corrected her mistakes, (which was what other people usually did) but he was right when he said that her English was still a bit of a mess. Since most Swedish words were easier translated to English than Korean, Ga Eul suggested to incorporate some English lessons into their own which didn't bother Eun Jae at all. The pay was not even a question. As soon as Ga Eul suggested it, Eun Jae apologized and told her that she'd raise her pay. Ga Eul declined only to be frowned on by Eun Jae. In the end, she caved, because she also needed the money.

The whole time she was tutoring, she hoped she didn't look as hopeful as she felt. Hoping to get another glimpse of the So Yi Jeong of her dreams, but to no avail. She even tried to excuse herself to the bathroom still hoping that she'd bump into So Yi Jeong along the halls, but she figured that the mansion had too many halls for her to accidentally just bump into him.

Finally, she gave up and decided that her best bet on seeing So Yi Jeong again was to continue with her tutoring sessions, even if it was against Geum Jan Di's principles. When Eun Jae handed her the envelope that contained her pay, the older girl had hope in her eyes.

"See you Wednesday, Ga Eul?" she asked, not said, as if knowing she still had a decision to make, and yet, still not knowing that since So Yi Jeong showed up in the room, the choice was already eliminated. It was an automatic answer.

"Of course," Ga Eul said before bowing and taking her leave.

Jan Di wouldn't like it. But hey. A fangirl's gonna do, what a fangirl's got to do.

As she walked out of the mansion, surprising herself because she didn't get lost, a familiar man in black suit assisted her in opening the huge double doors. Her eyes lit up when she recognized him and she bowed immediately, "Jo Kwon-sshi."

Jo Kwon gave her the slightest of smiles as he bowed as well. "Ga Eul-sshi, I'm glad to see you tutoring Miss Eun Jae. Couldn't have her in anyone else's hands."

Ga Eul brightened and laughed. "Oh, thank you. Thank you so much for letting her."

"Oh no. I merely give her reports on the interviews I make. She's wise. She knows the best," he said.

Ga Eul's mouth shaped a little O as Jo Kwon spoke of his Miss. It wasn't hard to notice the admiration in his voice as he spoke. Then Ga Eul smiled. "I guess I'll be seeing you around," she said and stepped out of the door."

"I'll be looking forward everyday," he said and waved.

**-chapter end-**

A/N: Hi. Uh, hi? Hello...

So... uh, yeah... a plot bunny woke me up in the middle of the night... and uh, please don't hate me! *ugly wailing*

I know Reset's been on hiatus for a long time, and I think it's because the plot bunny that gave me the idea died a long time ago. Plot bunnies must always be fed with lots of words, and paragraphs or else they die before their time.

Anyway~ I'll try to finish this before Feb ends, as a sort-of-Happy-V-Day present to all you singles out there (like moi)! Thank you for passing by and I hope you liked it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ga Eul took a deep breath as she walked through the double doors that day, not daring to look anywhere but forward. She didn't bother looking for anyone to help her with directions, as she was already too familiar with the way the hallways snaked around each other, and she never got lost anymore. It's been more than months after all. Even Jan Di felt safe with Ga Eul going to and from this house. The place was too familiar to her it almost felt like home. Almost.

She went straight to the study room where she usually met Eun Jae for her lessons and on some occasions, Yi Jeong if fate was being a good sister to her that day.

Fate, it seemed that day, was.

She slid the glass door open and almost tripped on flat ground when she found So Yi Jeong reading some books on the table. He looked up when the door opened, and gave her a surprised smile that made her lose all her senses. After a few failed attempts of her brain to signal a response from her, she managed to smile politely and bow, staying at the door.

"Yi Jeong-sunbae," she said by way of greeting. She'd resorted to calling him sunbae long ago, since calling him oppa was just inappropriate in her situation, and she didn't want to call him just Yi Jeong.

Yi Jeong took off the glasses from his nose, and placed a hand on the page of the book he was reading. "Ga Eul-yang, come in. You're a bit early, but come in."

She bowed again before stepping in the door, and walking to the table as slowly as she could, relishing the image of So Yi Jeong alone in a room with her. When she reached the table, she tried to make sure she was not too close to invade his personal space, but just close enough she could almost smell his earthy scent.

She checked her watch and found that she wasn't early at all. It was already exactly time for Eun Jae's tutoring sessions, but she was nowhere to be found. "Uh, sunbae," she asked and Yi Jeong looked up at her, enough to delay her brain's functions for a couple of heartbeats and it's a miracle she's still alive. "Where's Eun Jae-unni?" she asked in a small voice.

Yi Jeong, thankfully, didn't notice her nervous voice, and only looked at her curiously. "Hm? What do you mean where's Eun Jae? She didn't tell you she will be running late today?"

What Yi Jeong said took time to process, but she hoped it looked like she was only racking her head for a memory, only to answer, "She... didn't mention anything." Ga Eul frowned.

Yi Jeong shrugged. "Ah, that scatterbrain. Maybe she forgot," he said and closed the book. "Well, she said she was just going to get something in Gangnam and won't take long, but she left a bit of a while ago."

She had no response to that. It sounded so sweet and intimate, Yi Jeong teasing Eun Jae behind her. She wondered if she was going to have the same love story as the two lucky ones she was serving at the moment. Well, no such luck on her first try, and maybe she wasn't going to be trying again anytime soon but So Yi Jeong was a luxury she would never pass down. That crush is something she'd like to hold on to.

Admiration, she corrected herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ga Eul-yang, please make yourself comfortable. Sit down," he said and closed his book. "I'll make us some tea."

Fortunately, Yi Jeong was naive enough to think that it was because of courtesy that Ga Eul was still standing up and not because she lost the ability to function normally because of his presence. She was going to stop him and tell him it's alright when he half-ran half-walked out of the room and was gone before Ga Eul could mention another word. Or maybe it's only because her mind wasn't working properly.

She sighed and sat down. She decided that she might as well do her own homework while she was waiting for Eun Jae, and also because talking to So Yi Jeong just shuts down her nervous system. _Some genius._

And because she was a genius, when she was trying to bring out her reading materials from her bag, she managed to push Yi Jeong's books off the table. She groaned and got down to her knees to pick up the books and some pieces of paper that were now scattered on the floor. She tried to place them in a way they were before they dropped, in a way that didn't look like they've just been tossed by a klutz, and weren't touched by anyone's hands except Yi Jeong's.

_Wow. Yi Jeong-sunbae touched these books._

She was about to place the papers in the middle of the pages of the books when she noticed the names listed on the papers looked familiar. Most of them were names of girls, arranged alphabetically, with only a handful guys' names scattered between the girls' names. She flipped it to the first page and found the heading that read

So Yi Jeong Fans' Club: Official List of Members.

She gasped and almost dropped the paper again. She reread it twice then thrice before it finally sank in. So Yi Jeong was getting reports from his fans' club! No wonder people were killing each other to become president. Sunny must have had a heart attack if she found out that it wasn't only she that was meeting up with So Yi Jeong, but inactive member Chu Ga Eul as well.

There we were are again. Chu Ga Eul losing all her senses. She tried to collect herself and try not to think about what Yi Jeong would think now that he knew Ga Eul was part of his fans' club. What could he have thought of her now? A delusional fangirl who would jump on him the first moment she got with them alone? She wouldn't do that, of course, but there were other fangirls who wouldn't hesitate to do so. Horror gripped her heart at the image of Yi Jeong running out of the room, and she thought, _He knew. He obviously knew_, and was about to break down when she didn't find her name on the list.

She flipped the pages again and again until she came to the last two pages where there was a shorter version of the list, with the heading: _So Yi Jeong Fans' Club Official List of Inactive Members_ where she found her name with her year level, course, cellphone number, email address, and vital statistics. (Damn Sunny for making her fill up that damn form!)

He knew! He knew she was part of his fans' club and now he didn't want to do anything with her. Eun Jae might as well fire her the moment she found out.

She could feel her pulse accelerate as she stared longer at her name on the list and was about to cry out loud when So Yi Jeong slid open the door. He was carrying a tray for a little tea ceremony and was too focused on balancing them on his hands he didn't notice Ga Eul holding the paper that was his and was never going to be his again. Forever. Ga Eul placed the paper behind her back and walked awkwardly away from where she was standing moments ago.

"I didn't know how you liked your tea so I brought everything," Yi Jeong was saying as he lay the tray on the table, and Ga Eul was going her best to fold the paper behind her back to the tiniest parts she could manage without being conspicuous about it.

"Ah," she laughed nervously as she looked at the porcelain cups and containers of different shades of sugar, and some other spices she didn't know. "That's nice of you, sunbae, thank you, but anything would do for me, thank you, I... uh... appreciate it and you actually didn't have to... but thank you..." _STOP TALKING! _her brain scolded her and she clamped her mouth shut and dropped the paper on her bag behind her.

"Do you mind me making for you, then?" he asked, his hands halfway reaching the cups, waiting for Ga Eul's word.

"Oh, not at all, thank you sunbae, although... yeah, thank you," she closed her eyes in embarrassment before opening them again.

Yi Jeong was busying himself with the tea to notice anything about Ga Eul, or _he was just trying his best to ignore this weird fangirl in front of him right now_, her brain told her and she cringed. He should be doing that. She didn't blame him. Attacks of fangirls to the F4 were no less than dangerous to their lives everyday, and even not-so-hardcore fangirls such as Ga Eul were already swept with name of the more famous fangirl ways.

"Here you are," Yi Jeong said and placed a teacup in front of her and another one in front of himself.

"Thank you," she said quietly, only looking at the reflection of her eyes on the tea. She was about to take a sip when Yi Jeong spoke.

"That's odd."

She looked up to find Yi Jeong opening the books he had on the table as if looking for something. She shrank of her seat. "What is it?" she asked, just to be polite.

"Hm, I had a file here a while ago. You..." his eyes found hers, and found that if she spoke, she surely wouldn't be able to lie to him. She swallowed. "... didn't see it anywhere, did you?" he asked.

She shook her head too quickly, but he just nodded, and got back to reading his books again.

She was already praying for Eun Jae to come quickly as she couldn't survive another minute alone with So Yi Jeong in this room with his quiet judgment and the respectful regard he was still giving her despite who she was. She would file a resignation to Eun Jae as early as she could.

"Oh yeah!" Yi Jeong snapped his fingers so suddenly that Ga Eul jumped in her seat. She was bracing herself with the accusation, the finger pointing, the laughing, the embarrassment of him revealing that he knew that she was a fangirl. What he said surprised her. "That reminds me, belated Happy Valentines' Day," he said and smiled at her.

She forced herself to smile as naturally as she could without making her look like the Grim Reaper happy for his kill, and said, "Thank you sunbae. To you, too."

She didn't understand what was going on. Why was Yi Jeong being nice to her despite knowing what she was? She frowned. This situation was all sorts of wrong, and yet she found herself thankful to Yi Jeong. Whatever the reason he was doing what he was doing, she was grateful he didn't mind she was a huge fan of his.

Then she realized, she at least had to make this conversation less awkward since it was already Yi Jeong making a move to diffuse the idol-fan tension in the room, and she was only making it worse by proving him that fangirls are nothing but blubbering little girls who can only think and scream "OPPA! OPPA! MARRY ME OPPA!" She took a deep breath and gathered herself, along with her wit and who she really was beyond her fangirl self.

She was a second year language major. Communication was her ace. She can speak in front of a large crowd without feeling even a bit nervous. She can speak almost four languages, five if you counted sign language. She was a scholar. The top of her class. She might be even running for Latin honors for her graduation. And she was not going to let a little crush destroy who she really was.

"How was your Valentines' Day, sunbae?" she asked with a smile, a genuine one, and a curiosity that wasn't enough to pry.

Yi Jeong blinked at her, as if he didn't expect her to talk normally, which was what was happening the past moments. "It was... different," he said with a shrug. "Eun Jae planned everything, so it was alright. I think," he said. Ga Eul felt he wasn't telling her anything at all, but it was fine by her. She didn't ask because she wanted to know. She asked because it was proper. "Yours?" he asked.

But she didn't expect him to ask her all the same. Maybe it's just to continue the flow of the conversation. Eun Jae might take a while in Gangnam, whatever she is doing there, and Yi Jeong might felt obliged to entertain his girlfriend's guest slash tutor.

Ga Eul thought that she didn't have to tell him anything close to the truth since he wasn't honest with her as well. She was about to concoct the best Valentine's Date she never had and relay him the story just so he wouldn't think of her as some girl who didn't have a love life when he laughed.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot. You're going out with Jo Kwon, aren't you? You must have had a blast then," he said.

She almost fell off her seat. He knew? How the hell did he find out about her and Jo Kwon? Ah, but he was the master of house. Rumors probably came to him eventually. Especially the one about his girlfriend's right-hand man and her tutor, two of her closest confidants. How wouldn't he know about her and Jo Kwon? Or at least about them before Valentine's Day...

"Honestly?" she said sheepishly, realizing that she wasn't one to lie. "It was... sort of a bad experience."

His smile was gone when he looked at her. His eyes were questioning and piercing at the same time.

She shrugged. "It's in the past, so I'm over it," she said. "Nothing really to it."

There was a long pause before he spoke again. "He broke up with you? On Valentine's Day?" he asked, not even bothering hide his surprise.

She laughed a small laugh which sounded bitter to her ears so she stopped as soon as she did. "It's fine. It happens. That's just how life goes, I guess."

"And you're just okay with it?" he asked in a small voice. "You're not going to fight for him, or... I don't know, try again?"

She thrummed with her fingers on the table just to distract her mind from the pain that was coming back to her all over again. And here she thought she's already cried everything away two nights ago. And the Nutella-flavored ice cream didn't do it's trick well, too. She frowned. She thought was already over Kim Jo Kwon. Obviously, she still wasn't. And she still had to get over So Yi Jeong.

What a life.

"I don't know. I want to, but he already made his choice. Why would I push myself to someone who doesn't love me? Maybe he did before, but he didn't now. Why would he love me in the future? Maybe he would, but the it would fade again. I don't think I can handle another heartbreak like that," she said. Her hands where in fists, her fingers digging on her skin, and her brain screaming at her DON'T YOU DARE CRY. DON'T CRY. NOT IN FRONT OF SO YI JEONG.

She took three deep breaths and released the fists. "Maybe there's someone else. Maybe it's not the right time. Maybe I was just _really stupid._ But it was fun while it lasted, and I don't regret any bit of it," she said the last part to remind her of the beautiful things she experienced while dating Jo Kwon. They weren't things she wanted to forget, and there were the only things that reminded her of the beautiful parts of life.

Yi Jeong looked pale when she looked at him, and she frowned. "Sunbae... are you okay?"

Just then, Eun Jae was at the door, panting hard. "Oh gosh, Ga Eul I forgot to tell you I'm going to be late, I'm so sorry," she said and moved forward to use the table as a support. "Ah, what a day," she was saying, not even noticing her boyfriend pale and unmoving at the moment, and Ga Eul confused. Eun Jae was looking for something in her handbag and produced a once elegantly wrapped present now a bit crumpled and handed it to Ga Eul. "Chocolates for you, Ga Eul-ah. Best in Korea. Bought them in Gangnam myself. Hope you love them. And..." she walked to Ga Eul to whisper the last part. "Hope it helps." She winked at her then began unpacking her bag.

Ga Eul's eyes watered at Eun Jae's words. Her employer who was too kind to her. Too caring. Too understanding. Too knowing, even, but that she would even go all out to get her chocolates for a heartbreak she just found out, probably that morning. She lost all of herself and hugged Eun Jae. "Thank you so much, unni," she said.

"My pleasure, Ga Eul-ah," Eun Jae smiled at her.

Ga Eul placed the chocolates in her bag, squashing the folded list of Yi Jeong's fans' club members underneath it. She took a deep breath and took on her professional stride. "I hope you don't mind, unni, but we'll be starting immediately since we lost a bit of time," she smiled.

"Oh, that's no problem," Eun Jae said. "I'll try to work harder today."

That's the only time Ga Eul noticed that Yi Jeong wasn't in the room with them anymore.

**-chapter end-**

A/N: Hi! Belated Happy Valentine's Day everyone! As promised! An Update! Just a few days after Valentine's Day! WOOHOO! Can I just say that I'm uber proud of myself because I've never done this in a while. Haha. My friend used to tell me that I write quicker/update faster when inspired and maybe I am. Haha. Wish me luck?

Lol. Beyond my obviously non-existent love life, I want to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. Thank you so much. Your lovely reviews are fuel to my soul. Haha. And to dear _cookiebee_ whose review really challenged me to write this chapter. I was too tempted to write three days before but alas, I just had a long exam this morning, so that wasn't to happen. (Also that Myrielle issue! I hope you guys continue to support Myrielle's decisions no matter what #HardCoreMyrielleFangirl)

Thank you so much, lovelies. You'll be seeing me again. Hope your lives are better than my love life. HAHAHAHA. Muwahugs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"I don't know what that means but I'm pretty sure you just cursed me in Swedish."

A mutual glare passed between the mentor and the student, because what the student said was obviously true, but the teacher was already too annoyed to amuse the student.

The silence was startling, cackling with energy that if you can just zoom in more closely, you would be able to see electricity crashing in between the distance where their eyes have met. There wasn't any tension in the air. It was more of... I-so-want-to-kill-you-right-now kind of mutual feelings between them.

"Just say it," the student said, exasperation evident in the voice. "Say you'll give up on me, so this will be all over, your hardship... and mine... will be all over."

The teacher closed her eyes and mentally imagined stretching the last bits of her patience. She exhaled a loud breath before saying, "I won't. Give up on you, I mean," she looked at her student straight in the eye to make sure her point was delivered clearly. "Especially since I know how much this means to you." She sighed again before flipping the notebook to the notes taken by her student before.

"Alright," she said, and straightened her back, facing her student. "_How may I help you?_" she asked in Swedish.

The shoulders of her student slumped as she watched. Frustrations on brows, and annoyance on cheeks, her student spoke, "_If it would not be a bother, I would like to speak to..._" a pause, an understanding between the two, before the student continued, "_Please._"

Ga Eul applauded. "You got it! That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Yi Jeong crossed his arms and frowned at her. "It was very, _very_ hard," he muttered, to which Ga Eul just rolled her eyes.

"That's because you're letting your emotions get in the way. How are you supposed to go after her with that kind of attitude anyway?" she clicked her tongue.

"And that pep talk is supposed to help me?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Isn't it helping?" Ga Eul asked, mimicking Yi Jeong's tone of voice.

"Do you want me to very honest with you? It's not," Yi Jeong said, even before Ga Eul could nod to answer the question.

"Oh, so you're honest now?"

"Don't give me that talk. You don't know anything about me."

"Do I?"

The question was too sweet, Yi Jeong could only glare at his tutor before standing up and walking to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ga Eul asked him, her poised as if ready to attack him... or something.

"I need a brea-"

_Bzzt._ "Woo Bin-sunbae, code A17-Eun Jae. I repeat, code A17-Eun Jae."

Yi Jeong was already reaching for the two-way radio Ga Eul had in her hand, with Ga Eul backing away from him, when Woo Bin's reply came.

_Bzzt_. "Code A17-Eun Jae. Copy that, Ga Eul."

"Why the hell is her name part of the code?" Yi Jeong complained, sounding very much like his former self for the first time in months.

"So you'll get into your senses easier," Ga Eul said with a shrug as she hooked the radio on her belt again, while Yi Jeong slumped down on his seat.

There was silence between the two as one tried to stare the other down, and the other wasn't backing down at all. Yi Jeong looked away first before sighing. "Are you going to tell me when you and Woo Bin conceptualized this whole 'Choke Yi Jeong with the strictness' antic?"

Ga Eul pointed at radio on her hip as if asking and Yi Jeong nodded. "Two days ago," she said. "It was Ji Hoo-sunbae's idea actually, but since he had, I quote, "Dumber Jun Pyo problems"," Ga Eul made air quotes so it was clear that those words didn't come directly from her mouth, "He had Woo Bin-sunbae monitor you instead of doing it himself."

Yi Jeong was slouching, and spinning absentmindedly on the office chair. "And what does code Eun Jae mean?"

Yi Jeong could hear Ga Eul's smile as she spoke, even if he wasn't really looking at her. _The nerve of this girl._ "The name is just to make you stop doing whatever you're doing, rethink your choices and divert your attention to what really matters at the moment."

Yi Jeong stopped spinning in his chair and slowly, very slowly turned to look at the smug look on Ga Eul's face. "Let me guess. It was _your_ idea."

Ga Eul let her legs dangle on the right arm of her chair and laughed. "Oh, I can't take full credit. Ji Hoo-sunbae was the original genius. One can say his genius only rubbed on me," she had an evil smirk on when she looked at Yi Jeong who only stared back at her with seemingly growing hatred and annoyance.

"And the _A__-some-number_ part of the code?" he asked, just for the sake of quenching his curiosity.

"A17 is just one of the many other codes. It means you're going to go get something alcoholic to drink, and he has to lock down your fridge and your underground wine stash and your alcohol company for a week."

"The alcohol company?! A week?" the horror in his voice was so true Ga Eul had to crack up again.

"Kidding. Only for three days."

"Three days?!"

"Yeah, and Jun Pyo-sunbae already sent word to all alcoholic brands within Shin Hwa's reach to ban you from buying anything from them. Heard he's willing to pay double for whatever you will offer."

Yi Jeong's jaw unhinged, his mouth hanging wide open.

"I wish Jan Di could have done the same thing for ice cream brands back during my heartbreak days, too, but we weren't capable so just have to be grateful for your friends, sunbae," Ga Eul smiled at him with her sarcasm dripping even from her eyes, Yi Jeong wanted very much to pluck them out of her face.

Instead, he closed his mouth and frowned, grateful and angry at the same time. It had been a huge issue before, after all, his alcoholic tendencies that he'd woken up every single day with a headache worse than the previous day. Ji Hoo's words weren't comfort, and Woo Bin's company was just pain. Jun Pyo had his own problems so he turned to alcohol, which was his best friend then. And this Chu girl who wasn't really help at the moment. "Some friends," he said.

"So... you want to continue the lessons or what?" Ga Eul was asking him, rolling herself near him so she could reach the notes he had, but not close enough for him to reach the two-way radio strapped to her belt.

"You know I can just fire you and get a more agreeable tutor," Yi Jeong told her, his tone serious.

"Yeah," she said, a short breath of laughter followed the word, "And I could squeal everything I know to everyone... and before you can say no one will believe me, I have the rest of the F4 as backup."

Yi Jeong frowned deeply at her, and asked, "Why would you want to stay as my tutor anyway?"

"Because I am well-recommended by your closest friends," Ga Eul said, waving the radio in the air for a while before placing it back where it belonged. "And besides the great pay, I think I know more about Eun Jae-unni than any other tutor you would meet anywhere, so I guess it's just a big plus on your part."

Yi Jeong stayed silent for a while, and there was it again, the feeling that Ga Eul said too much... or too little... or just enough to make him hate her forever. Well, he already hated her, she was sure of it, so maybe there wasn't really much change for the both of them, but on her part, she was still just an employee. Respect should be high on her list of priorities while treating her employer.

But the F4 did say that she shouldn't play nice with him anymore.

Yi Jeong took a deep breath and released it then said, "Alright, Miss Chu. What's next on the Steps to Kill So Yi Jeong?"

Ga Eul smiled in relief. In truth, she didn't really know why Yi Jeong still kept her as a tutor. It was true there would be a long line of tutors if he just said he needed one, and there would be people who were more capable than Ga Eul. The things she said about knowing Eun Jae was obviously just for blackmail, since psychologists would be able to deal with So Yi Jeong in whatever state he was in.

She was grateful to him.

Thankfully, Chu Ga Eul, ex-member of the So Yi Jeong fans' club (she terminated her membership as soon as she got her hands on the list some months before) was now over and so over So Yi Jeong.

There was only a sense of satisfaction working with him, him giving her undivided (sort of) attention, and him paying attention to what she was saying. But her being able to stand on her feet around him without her hormones raging wildly was the achievement of the century. She was thinking of giving herself a plaque of excellence of achieving the Herculean task, but resorted to celebrating with ice cream with Geum Jan Di two months ago.

Right now, the F4, Ji Hoo mostly, hired her to be his personal Swedish tutor to help him get Eun Jae back. She flew to Sweden a week after Valentine's Day, claiming she had to find herself (at least that's what she told Ga Eul), and without further words and communication with So Yi Jeong. Crushed, and yet determined to bring her back, Yi Jeong was only tolerating Ga Eul's strictness until he had Eun Jae's hand again.

"Well," Ga Eul shrugged and twirled once on her chair. "You actually have enough vocabulary to survive Swedish day to day conversations, just about the same amount Eun Jae-unni had," she saw him wince at the sound of her name at the corner of her eye but she pretended she didn't see anything as she continued. "And since she could speak and understand Korean, I don't think we have anything more to practice than what you're going to do to win her back... What?" she asked when she him shook his head as if trying to clear something from his mind.

"You make it sound so easy," he said in a small voice.

"Shouldn't it be?" she asked, her eyes wide with confusion. "I mean, you do love her, don't you?"

He didn't answer.

"Sunbae?"

"You went after him, didn't you?"

"That's beside the point," she looked away.

"Didn't you?" he pressed.

"That's actually very personal."

"You're allowed to walk right into and have direct influence on my personal life and I don't even get details on yours? I don't see how fair that is, Ga Eul-yang," he said.

She frowned. She had a inkling that he knew she still liked it when he called her _Ga Eul-yang_ and there was no way she could tell him off. He was telling the truth after all.

"I did," she said finally after a while.

"It didn't work out well."

"No," Ga Eul said quietly. "It was just how I expected it actually. It was really dumb of me to go after him in the first place." She shrugged.

She was far over Kim Jo Kwon as well. He still worked at Yi Jeong's house, and Ga Eul saw him around from time to time, but there was nothing more between them. They were not friends, but they were civil with each other. It was a relationship that Ga Eul wanted nothing more to do about.

"How is my going to Sweden not dumb, then?" Yi Jeong asked.

"Because you're in love with each other, that's why," Ga Eul said.

When Yi Jeong looked like he didn't accept Ga Eul's answer, she said, "The truth is, sunbae, I don't know what the outcome of everything we're doing will be," she sighed. "I mean, it could very well be a happily ever after. But there is also an equal chance of it being a heartbreak story."

"Thank you for the confidence boost."

She ignored him and continued. "The important thing is you tried. I don't think you'd want to spend the rest of your life with another girl, still thinking at the back of your mind 'What if?'"

Yi Jeong was frowning again, but it was a lot better than him being passive aggressive, like he's just sitting there plotting her "accidental death" any time of the day. "Remember Valentine's Day?" he asked all of a sudden.

Ga Eul nodded, her brain automatically hitting rewind to remind her the exact words Yi Jeong said that day despite being over him already. "Yeah, you said Eun Jae-unni planned the whole day."

"She wanted me to see something at sunrise... I didn't go."

Ga Eul blinked at him.

"I'm basically a walking time bomb," he was saying. "And yet she decided to tinker with my wires. After a while, maybe she figured that she didn't want to be near when I eventually explode."

Yi Jeong was looking beyond the walls that encircled them that moment. In the past? To the future? Ga Eul wasn't sure what he was looking at, or for. Ga Eul figured one point after Valentine's Day that Yi Jeong was just naturally jumpy around other girls without Eun Jae around to leash him, and that he didn't really know she was his fangirl after all. After all, every fangirl knew So Yi Jeong was a playboy. Even with a girlfriend.

It was what the fans' club did. They submerged the rumors with other beautiful things they could sugarcoat their idol with. They had to make sure no one else found out about the bad parts of their idol's lives, even if they had to bury themselves alive, they would. It was the fans' dedication that made them able to do things they were able to do... Who knew what the fans' club of the rest of the F4 were hiding?

"I think... we'll stop here for today," Ga Eul said as she gathered her things.

Yi Jeong only nodded, and didn't look back when Ga Eul walked out of the room.

She hated drama... and Yi Jeong was just being over dramatic. He had reason to, of course, since it was a heartbreak after all, but there were only some things Chu Ga Eul could bare over some periods of time. And... after all, she had a new mission.

_Bzzt_. "Woo Bin-sunbae, are you there?"

_Bzzt_. "Ga Eul! How many should I tell you to call me Agent Eagle?!"

_Bzzt. _"Alright, Agent Eagle, I need help."

...

The day of his flight, Ga Eul thought she beat him to the airport. When she got there, she found him sleeping on a random bench, six hours before his departure schedule.

He woke up an hour later and claimed that he no idea how he got there until she made him confess that he slept over the airport the entire night.

"I couldn't sleep," he said. "I don't know if I'm excited or nervous. It's like I just want this to be over with," he said.

"Sunbae..."

They stayed silent for a while, just watching the people come and go. The F4 weren't allowed to see him off, since Yi Jeong said they betrayed him as a friend for weaning alcohol from him and threatened that he will shout "A BOMB!" if he ever saw any one of them at the airport. Sure he wasn't serious, but they were not going to take their chances with a lunatic like him.

After he checked in his baggage, and was ready to go in, he spoke, "Ga Eul-yang, I really don't know what I'm doing right now. I feel like an idiot."

Ga Eul only laughed. "Everyone who's in love is," she said. "But the beauty of it is you're idiots together."

She could make out the smile in his eyes even with his mouth covered by a mask.

"Please don't tell me you're backing out at this moment. I don't have my F4 back up with me to convince you otherwise," Ga Eul said.

Yi Jeong just sighed. "I won't back out. I'm just replaying this scenario over and over my head. About what's going to happen and how it's going to end. But I only always get to the part of me falling to my knees and talking to her. I couldn't even finish the speech I will tell her in my head. I would ask for her forgiveness. I would ask for her to come back. I would give her promises that I probably wouldn't be able to keep... What is there for me to give her, Ga Eul-yang?" he looked at her, his eyes hurting and searching for answers.

She gave him a confident look. "You could give her exactly that,"Ga Eul said. "Just one moment for her to see you again. She'll decide what to do with it."

He looked stunned one moment, and then a smile crept into his eyes again. "I hate how you have all the answers to my questions," he said as he stood up.

She stood up and faced him. "One of us has to," she said with a smile.

He stretched out his hand as he said, "Well, thank you for everything Chu Ga Eul. Thank you for taking me this far into the battle field."

Ga Eul reached for his extended hand and said, "The pleasure is mine, So Yi Jeong," she said, taking all the liberty of calling him just by his name. "Just make sure you don't waste my efforts by ruining it, alright?"

"I won't," he said.

It happened too fast Ga Eul wasn't able to process it until it was over.

"Whatever happens, you'd be the first person I'll look for when I come back," Yi Jeong whispered in her ear before he stepped back from the embrace.

"I'll be waiting here, then," she waved as he went.

The curves of his eyes, the clue that he was smiling as he went, was her last memory of him before she never saw him again until his return.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Drowned.

Chu Ga Eul had a new philosophy in life wherein after a day, she would think of one word that would summarize the day for her. That day, the day wasn't even ending yet when the word popped right into her head.

_Drowned_.

That was what she was doing the whole day. From the moment she woke up, she drowned herself in the news forecast of useless bits of lives of actors and actresses and anyone famous who she did not care about, until she got to school where she drowned herself in gossip of who were together and who just broke up in the long list of couples in the school. Then at that moment, she was drowning herself in the laughter of the kids, in their smiles, in their screaming agreements and their wild playfulness. She was drowning herself in their presence because if not her thoughts would drown her.

_Drowned_.

She shut her eyes a little too quickly as the word kept popping into her mind and fear continued to grip her hear like death's cold hands. Then she opened them again, and tried her best to smile as she continued drowning herself in the presence of her students.

"Miss Chu look!"

"Oh, that's wonderful, Hyo Jin!"

"Miss Chu, Miss Chu! How about mine?"

"Just as wonderful, Nam Gi."

"Miss Chu, Mi Sook is being awful!"

"Am not! Chang Sun is lying!"

"You are!"

"Am not!

"Are to!"

"Kids, come on now, behave."

"Miss Chu! Miss Chu! Can you see this thing I made?"

"Can you wait for a moment, Soon Ei-ah?"

"Miss Chu!"

"Miss Chu..."

"Miss Chu..."

_Drowned_.

The bell rang to signal recess and all kids went screaming out of the classroom leaving their dumbfounded teacher behind.

Ga Eul hugged herself as she watched her students scramble into the hallway, and sighed as she gave up the thought of yelling at them that there should be no running in the hallway.

With her kids away, she couldn't distract herself anymore with the thoughts going around her head.

After all, it's been all over the news. Some people even whispered it around in between gossips. And the kids where drawing boats and playing pretend superheroes to save those who have been lost.

A Swedish aircraft crash-landed into the ocean the night before. There weren't many reports about the incident, and there was still no tally of casualties, if there are any. It was a bit confusing, too, how the reports were a bit too small for something that concerned two different countries at once, but Ga Eul guessed that it was that of a large scale and they're doing their best not to frighten the people, after everything else that happened in the past. Maybe small-scale news would help diffuse the tension, too.

Either way, it didn't change the fact that a crash had happened. And that someone important to Ga Eul may or may not be in that plane that had crashed.

It shouldn't have mattered. It's been a long time ago.

It's been four years. Four years since So Yi Jeong left South Korea without a trace. The fans' club hasn't disbanded yet, but there were only a few loyal fans who stayed and waited. There were no updates. No reasons. No news as to where he went or why he left. The media had nothing to tell the public because even the F4 wouldn't speak about it. The So mansion was abandoned, but not so much. Every once in a while a group of maids will come by to clean the place but there was still no one to tell anyone what happened to So Yi Jeong four years ago.

Chu Ga Eul knew. That's why she started the rumor that he went to the army quietly and was to serve there for an indefinite time. He needed to ground himself and find his center, and find out who he truly was.

The fans' club immediately bought the act without question and although there was nothing that can prove the rumor, it was better than nothing to hold on to at all.

After some time, the number of the fans began to dwindle, with a lot of them going instead of coming and staying, and even though Ga Eul was officially out of the list, she still supported the cause.

But last night changed everything.

When the news headline appeared, there was a message on Ga Eul's phone. It was Song Woo Bin.

"He's safe," the text read, as if he knew immediately what she thought. As if he knew she cared about it.

It didn't matter whatever reason Woo Bin texted Ga Eul. What mattered was he did, and she felt better because of it. Because a single word appeared behind her eyes when she saw the news, and she didn't want to think it pertained to anyone she knew.

_Drowned_.

So Yi Jeong was alive, so she didn't have to worry about anything.

It was funny.

So Yi Jeong didn't have any communication with the F4 for four years. So it was only natural that Ga Eul wouldn't be updated about the happenings in his life as well. She shouldn't be worried, she shouldn't even be affected. So Yi Jeong went to Sweden to look for his dream. It was only right that he looked for his happy ending alone.

But that's what really irked Ga Eul. There weren't many endings to that story but she knew it shouldn't have taken four years to write it.

She felt betrayed. She was part of the team who started the story, who tried to keep their story going even when it was almost at the end. To be withheld the most important part of it was treason. So Yi Jeong should have at least sent word that his flight was alright or that he came to Sweden safe or that the hotel staff were pleasant and the food was nice or that he found Eun Jae and they lived happily ever after...

She had been angry with So Yi Jeong.

She blamed that anger for her past relationships that failed. It was mostly her fault because she wasn't even trying to keep those relationships alive, but she blamed So Yi Jeong for keeping her worried. And for something else.

The anger melted last night, of course. The thought of him dying was so scary she almost cried last night if Woo Bin had not texted her. It had been nice of the rest of the F4 to keep in touch with her when he had not, and to keep her checked. But they shouldn't have. They were part of the reason Ga Eul still remembered him. And something else.

The kids were back in a moment's notice, and the classroom was again filled with laughter and smiles and thoughts of So Yi Jeong's almost death.

Ga Eul decided to ride on her students' waves of energy and took a handful of clay she tried to shape between her hands. The kids were soon following suite and after a while everyone was busy concentrating on their works.

"You're putting too much pressure on your wrist."

The thought came uninvited. The voice eerily sounded like So Yi Jeong although she couldn't be sure. She hasn't heard him for four years... and probably forever.

She frowned at the clay in her hands and shifted the weight of the pressure from her wrist, but then she realized she didn't know how to change the way she held the clay so she continued what she was doing a few moments before.

"Miss Chu, Chan Sung is teasing."

"Mi Sook started it, Miss Chu."

"You two have to seat apart from now on, okay?" Ga Eul said, taking her eyes off the clay on her hands for only a few moments to make sure those two were already apart and going back to her work like nothing happened.

"You're still putting too much pressure on your wrist."

"Miss Chu..."

This time, Ga Eul looked up to find the same curve of eyes she saw that day on the airport. She imagined herself taking a deep breath, but instead she just smiled.

So Yi Jeong had everything imagined from the moment he got to Korea. Skipping to the part where he was finally going to meet Ga Eul, the movie in his head was picture perfect he wasn't even sure whether or not it had happened already.

He would say something really witty like, "Hi, may I speak with the adviser of the class, please?" but since Ga Eul was playing with clay, the "You're putting too much pressure on your wrist" was already genius.

Then Ga Eul would have looked up in surprise and would stand up in disbelief and would say "Yi Jeong-sunbae," like she did four years ago.

Then one of her students would also stand up and ask him, "Mister, are you our teacher's boyfriend?"

"Miss Chu said her boyfriend left for overseas. Could it be you?" another student would ask and Ga Eul would immediately shush the student in embarrassment and would look sheepishly at him.

As of the moment, none of his daydreams had happened.

To be fair, the "You're putting too much pressure on your wrist" was genius, but it was not enough to gain Ga Eul's attention. Maybe it was because her class was too focused on doing their business and she was trying her best to keep them that way. He did notice that she tried wriggle the clay the other way, only to give up on it and go back to her original molding to which he repeated his very witty conversation starter "You're still putting too much pressure on your wrist."

It was one of the noisy kids who noticed him first, which made Ga Eul look up. He plastered on the widest smile he could give her which he hoped didn't make him look like an idiot, and he counted down to see how long she would respond and almost frowned when she beat him to the number 5 (the first number on his countdown).

"Yi Jeong-sunbae," she greeted with a smile, before standing up and bowing low. "Kids, what do we say to visitors?" she asked her tiny crowd.

All the kids immediately stood up from where they were sitting and faced him then bowed. "Good afternoon, and welcome, visitor!" the kids chorused with wide grins on their faces, obviously knowing who the visitor was.

"Good afternoon, children," Yi Jeong said, trying not to sound as disappointed as he felt. Chu Ga Eul looked light on her feet like she'd seen him a million times today.

Ga Eul made the kids sit down and continue what they were doing before she walked towards him.

"Long time no see," she said when she was within earshot.

"Yeah, it was a long time, wasn't it?" he said with a small smile, knowing that would annoy her.

But it didn't do anything that would have signified annoyance from Ga Eul.

"I'll be out by 3," she said after looking at her wristwatch. "Are you okay with waiting for that long?"

"It's only 2, Ga Eul," Yi Jeong said, and thought about saying that she had beeb waiting far longer than an hour but figured he shouldn't push his luck. "Do you mind me joining your class?"

"No, of course not," Ga Eul smiled and lead him to a tiny chair that could fit half his butt among the sea of little heads and large bright eyes. "Please make yourself comfortable," was the last thing she said before she turned her back on him and was drowned in the sea of little heads and cries in laughter.

She looked very comfortable in that place, like she was made to teach little children. He wondered when she found out that this was what she really wanted. Or is it really what she wanted?

Although the high pitch semi-squealing was a bit disturbing for him, he felt at ease with the constant happiness exuded by Ga Eul's tiny crowd. Even their teacher seemed to glow as well, with her easy smile and peaceful stance, and her once-in-a-while glances as if to make sure he's not having a hard time.

He's not.

For the first time in years, he's not.

"Mr. So, what do you think?" one of the kids asked him as he held a misshapen pot in his hands.

Yi Jeong opened his mouth just in time to catch Ga Eul's unmistakable glare headed his way. He shut his mouth, revising the critique he had in his head before saying, "It's very promising..."

"Chan Sung! Lee Chan Sung, sir," the little boy said proudly to complete Yi Jeong's sentence.

"It's very promising, Chan Sung," he repeated and checked to see Ga Eul giving him a familiar pleased smile, just like she did four years ago when he got an answer right during their tutoring sessions. "It needs a little work, but what do we now, right? You're still very young."

"Do you think I can be like you when I grow up?" Chan Sung asked, his eyes bright, and suddenly he knew what Ga Eul saw in the kids.

"You'll be better than me. You're going to be just like you," Yi Jeong said and patted the boy on his head.

The little boy squared his shoulders as he jogged back to his group. "Did you hear that Mi Sook? I'll be better than, Mr. So! Then, I will ask you to marry me!"

Yi Jeong chuckled.

"Miss Chu! You heard him! He's being weird!" Mi Sook, who sounded almost in tears, cried as she ran to Ga Eul. Ga Eul, the sweet angel, carried the little girl and soothed her in her arms.

"Too early to plan that kind of future, Lee Chan Sung," Ga Eul told the boy after calming down Mi Sook. "You have to be sure before you make such promises."

"But I am sure," Chan Sung said, sounding confused. "I can be dependable. You'll see. I'll grow up and be better than Mr. So and you can depend on me, Mi Sook. I promise."

Ga Eul smiled. "Of course, you do."

The bell rang signifying the end of the class, and all kids rushed to grab their things before stampeding out of the classroom without much of a good bye to their teacher or to their visitor. Their absence was heavily felt as the two adults looked at each other and found that they were farther apart from each other than they originally assumed.

"So," Ga Eul said, standing up and gathering her things. "You're back."

It was a statement.

"I am."

Ga Eul reached for her phone and typed in something before looking at Yi Jeong again.

"For good," he added as if to reassure her.

She placed her things in her bag before shouldering it. Then she said, "That Swedish plane crash. You made that up, didn't you?"

He blinked at her.

"Yi Jeong."

He pursed his lips. "Well, I didn't know I was _that_ predictable."

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "Too many people were concerned about it for such a small news with no definite count of survivors. And the kids were too behaved a while ago when you came. They're usually uncontrollable in front of a visitor. They were told beforehand."

"Nice one, Sherlock," Yi Jeong said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You were told beforehand as well. You were too calm for someone who just saw their friend..."

"Who said you're my friend?!"

"For the first time in four years," Yi Jeong said, ignoring her comment. "Let me guess. Woo Bin told you."

"He didn't tell me anything."

Yi Jeong raised a brow.

"Alright, he may have hinted something..."

"I knew that guy's loyalty was questionable!"

"He has his reasons," Ga Eul muttered. "I mean, if someone hadn't contacted me for four years I wouldn't be loyal to him, either."

Yi Jeong looked like he wanted to say something more but stopped. "I forgot why I hated you so much. Now I remember," was what he said after a moment of silence.

"Glad to know your memory didn't fail you," Ga Eul smiled too sweetly before leading him out of the classroom.

"Ga Eul."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For not contacting you the past four years."

"Okay?"

"Okay?" Yi Jeong hurried to block her way out of the school. "What do you mean 'Okay?'?"

Ga Eul sighed. "Can we at least get out of the building first? The walls have ears."

Yi Jeong looked around and noticed just then that the school became eerily quiet, as if holding its breath for the next words the two will say. He had to smile before turning back to Ga Eul. "Lead the way."

They did not walk far. Ga Eul must have thought that the ears of the children were far better than the ears of the wall, because she sat down the first bench they passed by when they reached the playground. They were back in the noisy-squealing environment, but none of them seemed to notice. If anything, it seemed even quieter than the halls of the building a while ago.

"So, a teacher, huh?"

"It took you how long to come up with that conversation starter?"

Yi Jeong frowned. "Don't laugh at me. I'm still trying to get back to my Korean, okay?"

"What? You hired a tutor, too?"

"I might have."

"Was she as brilliant as I was?"

"She didn't talk back at me so I guess she was amazing."

Ga Eul stuck her tongue out at Yi Jeong. "Bet she wasn't as pretty though."

Yi Jeong shrugged. "She might."

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "What's really the point of this conversation again?"

"You were the one steering us away!"

"You and your _awful_ conversation starters!"

"You and your big mouth!"

"You and... ah!" Ga Eul ran her hand through her hair, easing it on her shoulders, before taking deep breaths to calm herself. "Gosh, I can't believe we sound worse than those kids a while ago."

"They remind you of yourself, don't they? Those loud voices and immature antics-"

"HEY!"

"And those big bright eyes that you can't say no to they annoy you so much," Yi Jeong gave Ga Eul the look of pure hatred he gave her four years ago that was so familiar it made Ga Eul laugh and Yi Jeong following her.

"They remind me of you, actually," Ga Eul said, after catching her breath. "Those stubborn little brats who always manage to stretch my patience but they just have that look that would always never make you give up on them."

"So I was irresistible to you, then!"

"I never said that!"

"I read between the lines, Ga Eul."

Ga Eul puffed up her cheeks and chose not to respond.

"Hey, we really are like those two kids a while ago. What were their names? That kid, that Lee kid."

"Chan Sungie, you mean? And Mi Sook."

"Yeah. He made a promise, too, didn't he? But Mi Sook wasn't pleased when he made the promised."

"Well, maybe she's wiser than I was. Who knew waiting was this hard?"

"So," Yi Jeong said quietly. "You were waiting."

Ga Eul laughed. "Was I not supposed to? You were the one who promised to come back. Woo Bin didn't tell me anything. He only told me you were safe. That's all."

Yi Jeong blinked. "Say that again."

"That's all?" Ga Eul said slowly.

"No, no, before that."

"Woo Bin told me you were safe?" Ga Eul thought, rethinking to her words.

"Woo Bin?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Yi Jeong blinked again. It was funny, how fate played with all of them. Looking at the scenario they were in, it seemed that Yi Jeong and Ga Eul knew too much of each they might as well be best of friends... or something even more. But maybe that wasn't really to happen. Maybe there was something else. Maybe it was the four years. Maybe there was no need to have four years. Maybe it was his fault.

There are too many maybes to think about at the moment.

"Speak of the devil," Ga Eul muttered as Woo Bin walked towards them with a grace that one could associate only with Song Woo Bin. "Hey. You're late," she said by way of greeting.

"I heard he came back," he said, tilting his head to Yi Jeong without looking at him. "Thought you two needed some time together."

"Ha-ha."

Woo Bin reached down to grab Ga Eul as if to make a point as he turned to Yi Jeong. "Glad your flight's safe, bro," he said, the only time he looked at Yi Jeong, before turning to Ga Eul again. "Let's get out of here?"

Ga Eul laughed and turned to Yi Jeong. "Sorry. We had prior engagements. If you told us sooner you were coming, we would have given you time."

"No," Yi Jeong said. "No, it's okay. Go ahead."

Woo Bin placed an arm around Ga Eul before the two of them walked away without even looking back. Woo Bin looked animated for a Song Woo Bin, but Yi Jeong knew how relationships change people. Woo Bin whispered something in Ga Eul's ear and she threw her head back as she laughed and then slapped Woo Bin's shoulder.

_Why did that scene look familiar?_ Or maybe it was only familiar in the movie theatre in his mind where he was always drowning himself the past few years.

Yi Jeong stayed there for a while contemplating about _Woo Bin_. That name. And _Yi Jeong_. She never called them sunbae anymore. What else changed?

"Hey."

It's that bright eyed boy who promised the girl in Ga Eul's class they'd get married one day.

"Chan Sung. Hey."

Chan Sung bent down to reach something below the bench before handing Yi Jeong a familiar-looking phone and taking a few steps back. "It's Miss Chu's phone. She must have dropped it a while ago."

"Oh," Yi Jeong said, staring at the phone for a few moments. "Thank you."

"Who was that guy Miss Chu was with?"

"He's a friend," Yi Jeong said. "Or was. Depending on who you're asking."

The little boy placed his arms behind his back and snuck a glance on the silhouette of the retreating couple. "I've never seen him before."

Yi Jeong raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Someone behind the boy called his name and he immediately turned to run, but he had time to wave to Yi Jeong say, "My mom! I have to go."

Yi Jeong waved as well and checked the phone in his hands. Fortunately it wasn't locked, and it was already in the messages, so he technically wasn't guilty of messing with anyone's privacy. It was even already on Woo Bin's and Ga Eul's thread of conversation, but there wasn't really much. Ga Eul must have been deleting her messages.

The conversation only started today, with Woo Bin saying _Code E03 _at 1 that afternoon, and Ga Eul replying, _I have Code E03, too, dang it _at 3. _I'll pick you up, then_, was Woo Bin ending that conversation.

Yi Jeong laughed with a certain dread in his heart.

_That was useless_, he thought.

**-chapter end-**

A/N: Alright, confession. This chapter has been targeted to be posted yesterday as an April Fools prank to all of you, but I fell asleep even before getting to the middle of the story. And then I watched Romeo x Juliet as I wrote the rest, and you might have noticed that the writing style changed. GAAAASH. Romeo x Juliet is the definition of cheese. And idiotic acts because of love. Seriously. I read the manga 4 years ago and decided just now to watch the anime and now I am broken beyond repair so let me rant AAAAAH.

end rant.

I'm sorry for the late update. Honestly, it feels like only a week has past between now and my last update. That's how uuggggh my life is. But considering what Romeo and Juliet had been through, I'm just happy with my life. Haha. (ALSO! I almost surprised to remember that Romeo and Juliet was one of the first fics I wrote. DON'T READ IT THOUGH. IT'S TOO EMBARRASSING.)

Anyway, thank you for passing by! And I hope you enjoyed. Update will be soon. (I hope. No promises because only idiots give empty promises.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Day 5 of Woo Bin's Code E03 was nothing short of a miracle. Or at least, that's what Ga Eul liked to believe. Her mind was (sometimes) distracted from the thoughts of someone who just came back from being MIA for a long time.

It had been so much fun, too (not really). Woo Bin toured her around the island (she was this close to throwing up in the chopper). He paraded her like a prize in two different casinos in one night (both of which she almost tripped on her high heels and long gown, countless times on different occasions). And now, she in the most expensive hotel she's ever visited, beside a gorgeous pool, wearing the sexiest 2-piece swimsuit she was ever going to wear her entire life (which was, although exciting, embarrassing).

At least right now, she was still too busy being self-conscious to be able to think about So Yi Jeong…

Who just crossed her mind right now…

And then again…

And again.

_Dang it_.

"OW!" she cried. It actually sounded a little something like _UUNGHHU!_ because Woo Bin pinched her nose.

"You were thinking about him again," Woo Bin said with a half-smirk she was already tired of seeing.

She slapped his hand away only to fail and be rewarded by a more painful pinch that caused a more distressed _Uunghu_. When she slapped his hand the second time, he conceded, pinched her cheeks before sitting beside her and handing her the mojito she ordered.

"No, I _was not_. I was having this awesome daydream about…"

"A certain potter who just recently came back and came to look for you first."

Ga Eul bit on her glass.

"I'm not going to pay for that if you break it."

"If this is as real as you're paying it for, it won't break, genius," Ga Eul glared at him, before sighing. "And I was not daydreaming about him."

Woo Bin nodded. "_Right_. You were _thinking _about him. Of course. Basic vocab: the first one is _unconscious_, but the other one is by choice, isn't it, Ga Eul?"

"I'm going to splash this mojito on your face… if it didn't taste so good," Ga Eul took a sip on her glass. Woo Bin had been teaching her to drink different kinds of alcoholic drinks, since it was sometimes rude to decline those drinks during high-end parties. There had been incidents were she got drunk and passed out, so they had been careful ever since. Mojitos are fine, and Ga Eul loved them because they weren't too bitter and sometimes they only tasted like juice, but they were still what they were. Woo Bin called them pretentious drinks, _like you are_, he would add most of the time.

"You know, if you want to forget about him, drink something stronger," Woo Bin laughed.

"Look, my life doesn't revolve around him."

"Says the girl who Code E03-ed for the first time in years."

"I Code E03-ed you last year!"

"You wanted someone to pay for your concert ticket," Woo Bin rolled his eyes. "That does _not_ count as Code E03."

"_No_, I let my friends see that I had an F4 boyfriend."

"Who didn't care because they were too focused on the abs on stage."

Ga Eul frowned.

Code E03 was Woo Bin's most used codes from their roster. It's their code for "I need a date." Ga Eul used it for the perks of having Woo Bin around, e.g. getting concert tickets paid, a bodyguard during occasions it was needed, and sometimes, when she needed the ego boost, the envious eyes around her when she's with him.

Woo Bin was more practical. His folks were traumatized when Yi Jeong and Eun Jae broke up, and demanded that he settled down immediately. But because Woo Bin was Woo Bin, and there was no settling down for him anytime soon, he would drag Ga Eul around family gatherings, and some random occasions just so his parents would think he had a steady girlfriend.

But no, they were not an official couple.

As much as they fought and bickered with each other, Ga Eul would never admit it to his face but Woo Bin had been her superhero. He'd grown to know her like Jan Di had, and had helped her more than Jan Di could ever. He helped her ice cream cravings during her first heartbreak A.Y. (After Yi Jeong). He beat the crap out her second boyfriend A.Y. when they found out he was cheating on her. And he took care of her when she drowned herself in alcohol and then passed out after boyfriend number 3 A.Y. She owed him a lot, so she always let him have his way when they were together.

Like now, he was holding out a bottle of sunscreen in front of her nose with a look that made her want to slap him in the face.

"Song Woo Bin…"

Ever so slightly, he tilted his head behind him. She squinted her eyes to make out a camera that was focused on them.

"That one's been following me around all day," he said. "Definitely my father."

She sighed before giving her back to him.

Woo Bin hooted and proceeded on squishing sunscreen on his palm, as Ga Eul took her hair over from her right shoulder.

"There's something else, too," Woo Bin said, as he shifted behind Ga Eul.

"What?" she asked just to humor him.

Woo Bin guided her shoulders to the right so she was facing the landscaped garden of the hotel.

"Uh-huh? What am I looking at?"

There was laughter in his voice when he said, "Watch."

She felt his warm strong hands behind her and she couldn't stop the sigh from escaping her lips. Damn Woo Bin and his charms. He might not be her type, but he's still the F4's Don Juan. She wondered to how many girls he did this before to perfect the art of putting sunscreen on one's back. She was too focused on the movements of his hands on her back she almost missed one of the bushes that suddenly jumped.

"Woo Bin-ah… the bush is… alive?"

"Bushes," Woo Bin corrected as he continued his work, unaffected by the fact that the bushes were moving.

That's when Ga Eul noticed that there were two other bushes beside the jumping bush, which were either following it, or holding it in place.

"Are those who I think those are?" Ga Eul asked.

"Anyone else stupid enough to do that?"

The bushes now were shaking, as if they were silently fighting while trying to look inconspicuous at the same time, but they were failing because there were already a number of people pointing at the bushes, wondering what kind of technology the hotel had nowadays.

"Why are they doing this?" Ga Eul bit her tongue before anymore unnecessary sounds got out of her lips, most not caused by the shaking bushes.

"Someone must have realized he had been a big idiot the past four years, and came as a loser in tin can to get his princess back."

Ga Eul threw her head back as she laughed, hitting Woo Bin's nose in the process.

"If you want to kiss me, there are a lot of better ways to ask for it," Woo Bin said, after rubbing his nose. But before Ga Eul could answer him with an equally smart comeback, he said in a more serious note, "I think they're just spying on us. Yi Jeong would want to know why I kept you from him after he just came back especially since he promised you you'd be the first person he'd look for. He's probably got your phone, too." Woo Bin's tone was different. He was a bit _off_? "The one in the middle should be Jun Pyo, if you're wondering. Probably trying to prove that he's better than the other two in Mission impossible."

Ga Eul laughed again.

Suddenly, Woo Bin's hands stopped and rested on her shoulders when he said, "Hey, maybe I should kiss you right now. Just to see what they would do."

Ga Eul finished her drink a little too quickly at what Woo Bin suggested. "Eh. That's just playing right into their hands. If they know you as well as you do to them, they'll probably realize immediately we're just pretending."

Woo Bin rolled his eyes. "Come on. I know you want to see whether or not _the_ So Yi Jeong would get jealous about you."

Ga Eul puffed her cheeks. She hated how Woo Bin was right. She hated how he knew about her fans' club membership and then her terminated membership. She hated how he knew despite everything that happened, she's still a So Yi Jeong fangirl through and through.

And there's still the fact that she owes Song Woo Bin a lot.

Ga Eul sighed.

Another thing she hated about Woo Bin was how he could read her mind. It's been going on for a while now, but Ga Eul now knew that out of all the people in the world, excluding her parents of course, she's most transparent to Song Woo Bin.

Which is why, she wasn't even surprised when the kiss came before she could even say the word, "Okay."

Gasps echoed around them.

Someone in the corner dropped a glass of something, the glass crashing on the floor.

There were a lot of people, mostly girls, Ga Eul assumed, who walked out of the place.

The kiss was barely even a kiss. It was just a peck… just the touching of two tips together. But hail the F4 effect, the Woo Bin effect specifically, that just managed to destroy the happy aura of the hotel with one single move.

But beyond everything was Ga Eul whose lips tingled at the contact. And her eyes that blurred and focused solely on Woo Bin.

For a second, she forgot who she was and where she was at the moment. For a second, she forgot she was being watched by a certain So Yi Jeong.

For a second…

Woo Bin was not looking at her, but was looking beyond her with a smirk plastered on his face. When Ga Eul turned to look, she found the rest of the F4, in their glorious leafy attires, not hiding anymore, giving Woo Bin a look that probably only an F4 would understand.

"If you guys told me you were coming over, I would have reserved a room for all of you," Woo Bin said standing up as well.

"No need to bother," Yi Jeong said, patting his clothes for the leaves that clung all over him like feathers on honey. "We'll take care of that ourselves. Hi Ga Eul-yang."

Ga Eul stood up immediately upon acknowledgement, without even meaning to. She could feel Woo Bin's disappointment around her because of it. At her level of composure, she's already using all her willpower for her jaw not to drop.

"You left your phone at school yesterday," Yi Jeong said, producing a phone from out his pocket, and walking towards her to return it.

Ga Eul was glued on her spot beside Woo Bin, who would obviously kill her later for being a fangirl that she is and foiling his ultimately super awesome plan of making Yi Jeong jealous. She cleared her throat when he reached her, "It was three days ago actually."

"Oh?" Yi Jeong said, looking genuinely surprised. "It felt like yesterday."

"Probably because you've been spying on us non-stop," Woo Bin amended, and Ga Eul felt her cheeks glow red. Just then, she remembered what was actually happening. All her embarrassing moments around the place… and the fact that she was wearing a very _very_ revealing swimsuit while standing in front of So Yi Jeong.

When Yi Jeong didn't respond and only frowned at the two of them, Woo Bin took the phone from him. "Thanks. She's been looking for it, but I already bought her a new one. Funny how her parents still worried about her even when she's already grown up."

"You know another funny thing?" Yi Jeong said, only looking at Ga Eul as if Woo Bin didn't exist at all. Ga Eul was grateful he was actually looking at her face, and not anywhere else. The gratitude seemed familiar… "The password of the phone…"

Ga Eul forced herself not to gasp or gulp or run all the way home.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but did you know it also happens to be my birthday?"

Ga Eul tried her best shot for a laugh, and prayed it didn't sound as scripted as it really was. "Really? Wow. It's actually my fandom's anniversary. What a coincidence!"

"_Fandom_?" Yi Jeong asked, his brow raised.

_Way to go, fangirl_, Ga Eul's logical side told her fangirl side. "It's a group of fans, sunbae. My password is our anniversary."

She wasn't lying. The So Yi Jeong fans' club was founded on So Yi Jeong's birthday.

Yi Jeong was only smiling at Ga Eul, as if he knew something… or everything, both of which were not good things. "What fandom is this?"

"Dinner," Woo Bin said, cutting conversation. "We still need to get change, babe." Woo Bin placed an arm around Ga Eul and she tried not to wince when he pinched her shoulder to get her back to Earth. He didn't have to do that though. The "babe" was enough to almost make her gag. Almost. If Yi Jeong wasn't looking at them intently at the moment. "I'll see you guys around."

Without waiting for any of them to answer, Woo Bin pushed Ga Eul away from the pool, got her a robe and brought her to their room without even getting a word from her all the while.

When he closed the door behind them, Ga Eul was still standing, looking blankly at Woo Bin. "So, _babe,_ do you want to get dressed, or do you want me to undress you?"

"Ew!" came her overdue response.

Woo Bin glared at her. "You are one weak, disappointing, blubbering fangirl." He crossed his arms and frowned at her. "Using his birthday as your password… Genius! And that clever _fandom anniversary _excuse, why didn't I think of that?"

Ga Eul raised a finger as if to oppose what Woo Bin said, but when she pointed the finger at him she mumbled, "I have nothing to say to that."

Woo Bin shook his head. "She even admits it," He sighed. "I can't believe you survived your first meeting with him."

"Me, too. I barely remember meeting him," Ga Eul said, scrunching her nose. "It was a good thing he came at school. The kids were a good distraction."

_And he never called me Ga Eul-yang then_.

"I have to ask you something though," Woo Bin said, his tone changing again, matching the same tone he used on her just a while ago. His _off_ tone.

"Uh-huh?" That's the only time Ga Eul realized both of them were only wearing robes… inside a room. She wasn't really bothered actually. She just realized it. This was Woo Bin after all.

"Did you feel something?"

Ga Eul just looked at him. _I'm feeling a lot of things actually, _was what she wanted to say, but waited for him to clarify his question. "A ghost? Don't tell me this place is haunted."

"No, genius," he sounded irritated, which is _off_. "When I kissed you, did you feel something?"

"Huh?"

"You're really stupid and slow, aren't you?"

When Ga Eul only blinked at him, he said, "Or maybe you're just really distracted by the fact that So Yi Jeong is here and he's here to seek you." He sighed again. "Maybe I'm the stupid and slow one… Taking my time." He groaned.

Ga Eul had never seen Woo Bin this distraught before. Well, she's seen him distraught-drunk before, but never distraught-sober.

"You are getting my point here?"

Ga Eul nodded slowly.

"So… did you actually feel something?"

Ga Eul blinked again. Then, she took the lace of the robe and played with it in her hands. "Honestly? No. I didn't feel anything…"

"I knew it-"

"I didn't remember who I was that moment, actually. I didn't feel my legs, or my arms… or my body. It was… weird, I think. Don't you think?" she said.

Woo Bin opened his mouth then closed it again, again, the first time Ga Eul saw Woo Bin unsure. "This is one of those rare few moments when I can't read what you're thinking."

"That's because you're biased," Ga Eul sighed. "So, _babe_, what will I wear tonight?"

Woo Bin laughed, and Ga Eul smiled in relief, she thought she'd lost him forever. Some fangirl fears were really terrifying.

When he caught his breath, the glint on his eyes was mischievous. "Something that blows So Yi Jeong out of the water, _babe_."

**-chapter end-**

A/N: Hi... hello. Hi... So... I'm still actually thinking of whether or not to continue this anymore since I left it so long ago... But then, So Yi Jeong would probably be mad at me now for not concentrating on writing about him and his hot self. Anyway~ Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you guys are still up to reading the rest of the story.

Like what Tadashi said: I'm not giving up on you.

Love lots!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"How bad is it?"

"Terrible."

"Now I'm scared. Since when did Jun Pyo learn that word? Ow! I'm serious!"

"Jun Pyo's right. It is _terrible_," Yi Jeong said, saying the word in English, just like what Jun Pyo did. But he was too dejected to feel proud for his friend at the moment. Besides knowing that Jun Pyo actually learned and spoke English fluently, Yi Jeong was the one in the _terrible_ situation.

It's been a month, and Ga Eul and Woo Bin were still inseparable. Yi Jeong couldn't even talk to Ga Eul on the phone without hearing Woo Bin interrupting on the other line, even at 11 pm. Those days at the Song Hotel were the worst. Ga Eul looked like a goddess every time he saw her, and Woo Bin was with her every time. Yi Jeong finally knew what it meant to feel heaven and hell conspiring against him.

He shouldn't be worried about anything since Ji Hoo kept saying that they're just pretending, and Ji Hoo was far saner than Yi Jeong without the bias of jealousy so he should trust the white knight. But for Yi Jeong, it wasn't enough. He had to have concrete proof that Woo Bin and Ga Eul were not dating, and after a month, there were no concrete proofs. The only thing concrete Yi Jeong had was the one that held the mansion together and he wanted to bang Woo Bin's head on it. Or his.

That's not the worst part.

Yi Jeong's parents finally found out what happened to him, that he just got home from his "trivial romances" as what the lawyer who handed him the paper said a while ago, and had taken legal action in their hands. Which meant controlling, unreasonable, and tormenting legal actions.

Jun Pyo was the one leafing through the papers, and Ji Hoo had pen and paper out to tally the damage Yi Jeong's parents wanted him to go through.

"Kicking out of the So house," Jun Pyo said.

"One. Kick out," Ji Hoo mumbled as he wrote it down.

"Does that mean I still get to keep my studio?"

"Studio to be demolished."

"Two. Studio demolishing."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THE THINKI…"

"Inheritance down to ten percent."

"Three. Ten percent inheritance."

Yi Jeong groaned.

"Ten percent of the So wealth is still large, though," Ji Hoo said as he looked up from his notes.

"Unfortunately," the lawyer said, and Yi Jeong glared at him. He had been interrupting the F4-1's conversations for a while now, and was obviously eavesdropping for his parents. He was standing apart from the group huddled around a coffee table, but was still close enough Yi Jeong could punch him if he wanted to. He wanted to, but he doubted that would merit him anything. "Young Master Yi Jeong has an older brother, Young Master Il Hyun. The inheritance was divided between the both of them, but Young Master Yi Jeong's wealth is now ten percent of what he should have had."

"Uh… Ten percent… of Il Hyun-_hyung_'s minus… Yi Jeong's? That is… uh, I know this, wait."

Ji Hoo crossed something in his notes. "It's five percent of the total inheritance," he said, relieving Jun Pyo from his torment. "Still okay, but it won't be able to support your _chaebol_ needs."

"No worries, Young Master Yi Jeong," the laywer said. "Your inheritance is going to be donated to charity, after the final renovations of the Woo Sung Museum, of course."

"Yeah, that's what it says here," Jun Pyo said, tapping a part of the paper that must have contained the information. "And you won't be taking part in the Woo Sung renovations... or running it in the future."

"Four. No part in Woo Sung anything."

"That should be four and five," Jun Pyo argued.

"We're not tallying how heavy the punishments are," Ji Hoo sighed. "We're just tallying them."

Yi Jeong was sure the lawyer was enjoying his demise right now, but he was not going to show him any form of weakness. He looked ahead, while his friends continued to list whatever his parents wanted from him from his four year absence.

If he was going to be honest with himself, it was only fair, because the cost of his going to Sweden was large. If Ga Eul wasn't doing a good job making him pay for it (Ah, but Ga Eul was already doing a good job), his parents were.

...

Woo Bin was getting restless. Ga Eul was sure. Although he always maintained a straight face, and sometimes he managed to smile and laugh a bit, he was always fiddling with something. A while ago, it was his car keys. Before that, it was her classroom keys. Now, it was her phone, which was okay for Ga Eul. At least the temptation of texting or calling Yi Jeong was minimized, if not completely gone.

Ga Eul looked at Woo Bin's phone that she was holding right now, with his birthday as the passcode.

_Nope, it's not completely gone_.

"That's the third watch you're buying today," Ga Eul said when Woo Bin took out his wallet to pay for the watch.

"Ah," Woo Bin said, grinning a bit. "No one can have too many watches."

"So you can alternate?"

"Exactly."

"That's a Rolex."

"I can pay for it. Want one?"

"You're panic buying," Ga Eul noted as she watched Woo Bin swipe his card the nth time today.

"Panic buying is for people who think are going to need to stock things up. Those are for necessities, like when a storm is coming and you're going to be stuck in a house, so you buy all the canned goods you can buy…"

"What's your point?" Ga Eul asked. He was beginning to talk too much, too. A while ago he didn't even talk. Not a single word.

"I'm not panic buying. I'm binge buying."

Ga Eul sighed. "When are you going to call off Code E03? It's been weeks."

"Code D10."

_Drinking buddy._ "No. I have an entrance exam coming up. No."

"Code GE1?" he tried, desperation evident in his voice.

_Amusement park date._ "No. Exam, remember?"

"How about Code GE2?"

_Movie marathon. _"Exam, Woo Bin-ah. What part of exam do you not understand?"

"Thank you," Woo Bin told the salesperson who handed him the paper bag that contained his new watch. "On second thought, can you unwrap it? I think I want to use it right now." The salesperson only smiled and bowed at Woo Bin as she took back the paper bag and disappeared behind the huge mirrored doors behind the counter. "What were we talking about again?" was what he said when he turned to Ga Eul.

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

"Code Eagle."

Ga Eul pursed her lips. "I thought we called off Code Eagle years ago?"

"Is that a yes?"

"No." The word was with conviction but ended with a pregnant pause. "Yes?" The word came out uncertain but hopeful. Ga Eul shook her head. "No. Obviously not. Exams. Exams." She released a deep breath. "What's up with you today?"

Woo Bin frowned at her. "I didn't know it will affect you this much. So are you in or no?"

"I don't…" she glared at him. "No. No. Code Eagle was done four years ago. There's no use getting back to it."

Woo Bin was offering his wrist to the lady that was holding his newly bought watch. "Aw, look at it. It's winking at me. Hi, babe. You're looking very sexy today."

"Are you talking to the watch?"

The watch was clipped and Woo Bin pressed it to his cheek. "Don't listen to that little girl, babe. She's just jealous."

Ga Eul just blinked at him.

Then she noticed that the salesperson was blushing furiously. The poor girl caught Ga Eul's glare that was supposed to be for Woo Bin, which might have scared her because she half walked half dashed back behind the doors.

Ga Eul's jaw dropped from its normal place and she hit Woo Bin with the paper bags she was holding, which were from his previous purchases that day, not minding that half of the bags was hers. "That! That is exactly why no one can take you seriously!"

"I'm sorry?" Woo Bin whirled to face her, with arms open, like a model posing for a picture.

"You just gave her your number. Probably winked at her, too." Ga Eul crossed her arms. What an effort it was, she realized too late, because her arms were filled with the paper bags, but she was not going to uncross her arms soon.

"I did _not_ give her my number."

Ga Eul looked at him.

"I _might_ have given her my Kik."

Ga Eul groaned and rubbed both her temples, still an effort, as the paper bags slid to her elbows. Woo Bin took the bags from her, even though he was already carrying some on his own. She did not refuse though, wanting him to take responsibility for once.

"This is why it's not working," she said, as they walked out of the Rolex store and into the rest of the mall.

"I beg your pardon?" Woo Bin asked. Even with his longer legs, he was having a hard time catching up to Ga Eul. (He was rich, okay? He's not used to fast-walking. He didn't have to fast-walk. He had all the time he wanted.)

"None of it is working. You're so distracted today. Yesterday. And the day before that. And you have bags under your eyes. It's obvious that you're having a _hard_ time but you keep insisting on keeping your _Don Juan_ façade and I can't even take you seriously, anymore…"

"Whoah, tiger," Woo Bin said, taking Ga Eul's arm to stop her from fast-walking. "Is it just me or are you jealous?"

Ga Eul's eyes almost bugged out of her eyes. "I'm not jealous."

"That's what jealous people say."

"That's also what you tell drunk people when they drunk talk," Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "I'm not drunk. And I'm not jealous."

Woo Bin was grinning. "You are. You are jealous."

"No, Woo Bin-ah. I'm angry. At you. I don't know what to think about you, anymore."

"Because…?"

"Because…" Ga Eul pressed her palms on her forehead as she thought hard. It was difficult to explain. Especially to someone like Woo Bin. "Code E03."

Woo Bin had one eyebrow raised.

"Code Y06. Code J14."

_I need a date._

_I need to be alone._

_I need a support group._

Ga Eul could see Woo Bin putting everything together. He's smart, and he knew her more than anyone in the world. He understood what she meant almost immediately.

"You're confused."

She nodded.

"Because I'm supposed to be in love right now, but I'm not."

She nodded, again.

"And... you're not?"

"Huh?"

"You're supposed to be in love right now, too, you know. But you're not."

The realization hit her. "Oh." She felt her face warming. "Is this what Code Eagle was about?"

"At least I'm not the only slow one around here," Woo Bin said, laughing. He patted Ga Eul's head before taking her hand and leading her away. "One movie tonight. At your place. And I'll leave you in peace the rest of the week. Deal?"

Ga Eul sighed. It had been hard adjusting to Woo Bin everywhere with her the past month, but she knew it was going to be as hard adjusting to the week without him, too. She could already feel herself missing him, even with him holding her hand.

"And, Ga Eulie?"

She looked up at him, trying to glare at him but failing.

"I am still in love. I hope something's working at least."

"Something's working. It's impossible for nothing to work."

"I love how you have something to answer to anything I say."

"One of us has to." Ga Eul chewed on her lower lip at the sudden memory that resurfaced.

"What about Code Eagle, then?" His eyes were expectant, she knew he didn't want to be disappointed with her this time.

"Fine. Code Eagle resumes after hiatus."

Woo Bin laughed, and Ga Eul knew why. Code Eagle was never in hiatus.

…

"Knock, knock?"

It was a half-whisper, so there really wasn't much expectation. Ga Eul had been spending most of her time that week in the public library for her upcoming entrance exam. Most people opt for interviews, but since Ga Eul was an overachiever, she scheduled her interview the day after the release of the exam results. She wasn't that sure of herself. She just wanted to be extra prepared. When she looked up, she forced herself not to gasp, gulp or run all over the place when she saw So Yi Jeong standing next to a book shelf.

"You stopped replying," he said.

"What?"

"I texted you that I was coming over."

Ga Eul never told anyone of her location. She hadn't been in communication with anyone the past days. She blinked in confusion and glanced at her unbeeping phone that was serving as a paperweight that moment, and realized that it was her new phone. The phone Woo Bin bought her. The old one, the one that Yi Jeong had the number of, was with Song Woo Bin.

Ga Eul tried not to laugh when she imagined Yi Jeong thinking he was texting her, when in fact he was texting Woo Bin. "What had I been telling you when I was texting?" she asked, out of curiosity.

Yi Jeong looked at her with confusion in his eyes, unsure what to make of her question. "Nothing important. May I?" She nodded and he took a seat. She was smiling too wildly, and he realized. He closed his eyes, as if erasing all the thoughts in his head. "I was texting Woo Bin, wasn't I?"

She was holding her mouth to keep her laughter to herself as she nodded.

He was shaking his head. "He said you're taking an entrance exam? And that you needed morale support."

"When did I ever need morale support?"

"I knew it. You sounded a bit different. But not totally different."

"Yeah. Woo Bin knows a little bit too much about me."

Yi Jeong stayed silent for a while, and she went back to reading the essay she was holding.

_Everyday experiences and laboratory experiments indicate that it is possible to perform two or more tasks simultaneously and efficiently._

"You make flashcards?" he asked. She looked up to find her notes spread out on the table in front of him and he was flipping through the ones she already finished reviewing. "How come we never had this when you were tutoring me?"

"I wasn't as efficient before," she said.

_Everyday experiences and laboratory experiments indicate that it is possible..._

"Want me to quiz you?" he said as he shuffled the flashcards as he if he was dealing with real cards.

She took one last look at her essay.

_It is possible_.

She turned her chair so she was facing him.

He cleared his throat. "Method used to make learners study in detail a specific thing, person or place not known to them."

Ga Eul closed her eyes first before taking a deep breath and getting in her zone. She was not doing this to impress Yi Jeong. She was trying to review and here he was, trying to help. "Case study."

"Method used to develop scientific inquiry among the learners?"

"Problem solving."

"Approach used to emphasize skills in forming conclusions."

"Conceptual."

"So Yi Jeong's birthday?"

"August 30, 1989."

"So Yi Jeong's Star sign?"

"Virgo."

"So Yi Jeong's height?"

"5'11"."

"So Yi Jeong's foot size."

"265 cm."

"So Yi Jeong's type of girl."

Ga Eul's concentration popped. She blinked, as if waking up from a dream, before suddenly standing up. "What the hell is this about?"

"SSSSHHHHHH!" came from around them.

"Sorry," Ga Eul told the general direction before turning back to Yi Jeong. "Yi Jeong-_sunbae_?"

Yi Jeong was smiling at her. "So... it is true. Eun Jae told me, but I didn't believe it at first."

_Eun Jae knew? _"Since when?"

"Day 1?"

Ga Eul slowly fell back on her seat. "I can't believe it."

"I can't believe it either. You're acting too normal for someone in my fans' club. Most of the wild ones are there."

Ga buried her face in her hands, knowing she was turning pink. "I can't believe it," she said again.

Yi Jeong only laughed.

As if to save her, her phone beeped. Ga Eul grabbed it with speed and covered the screen one hand as she read the message. _Code Eagle is a go!_ Woo Bin said.

"We can forget about it, you know," Yi Jeong was saying. "It's all in the past."

Ga Eul sighed. "Unfortunately not. Woo Bin wants me to do something."

_Is it Bringing Up Unrelated People's Names Day?_ Yi Jeong smiled dryly.

"Remember Valentine's Day four years ago?" she asked.

He started the game, but he cant help it anyway. "When Sun Pyo dumped you?"

She looked surprised. "Who?"

"Sun Pyo?"

"Someone dumped me?"

Yi Jeong blinked a few times, as if realizing something. "How many boyfriends did you have?"

"Three, I think?" Ga Eul frowned, as if trying to remember. "Ah, but those are A.Y. There was another one B.Y.? Was he Sun Pyo?"

"What?"

"Four, then," sounding more sure this time. "Four."

"What?!" Yi Jeong asked, caught in surprise and disbelief. "You had four boyfriends?"

"That's not the point," Ga Eul said, raising her palms to stop him. "Remember when you said you didn't see something at sunrise Eun Jae-_unni_ wanted to show you on Valentine's Day?"

_Oh._

"Woo Bin and I found it. We wanted to show it to you when you came back."

_Oh._

"So? Do you want to see it?"

**-chapter end-**

A/N: I'm really sorry for the sloppy updates. I'll try to finish this fic as soon as possible, but I have to put Reset on hold, and I'm not even sure I will be able to finish that one anymore... writing this one is already torture.

Don't get me wrong. I love writing SoEul fics... Well, that was before I watched So Eun's We Got Married episodes with Song Jae Rim. They were so ugh. And he was so aaaaagh. Bottomline, I now ship the two of them, and writing SoEul fics is like treason. Haha. It's like a reverse writer's block. Like I have inspiration to write, and it was fairly fun and easy to write, but it felt like I was writing with my own blood. That was gruesome, sorry.

But I will finish this fic, ASAP. That's a promise. I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for dropping by.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Ga Eul sighed when she got into the house. It had been a very very long day. The kids at school were restless, and untamable, she always wondered why every year kids she handled get noisier and rowdier than the previous years. She could clearly remember that her kids years ago were behaved and well-mannered, relative to the kids she was holding right now. Especially when visitors came. Those kids before were very polite. Ga Eul sighed at her memories and threw her bag on the sofa.

That's when she noticed a whirring sound coming from the kitchen.

"Oh my- SONG JUNG SHIN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE KITCHEN AGAIN?!"

There was a loud screaming, more whirring then more screaming before the whirring stopped. The screaming continued with hurried footsteps going away from the living room.

"SONG JUNG SHIN COME BACK HERE!" Ga Eul was yelling as she tumbled to get to the kitchen although she knew she was too late. Again. What mess the little boy could have done this time?

She tripped grandly when she almost reached the kitchen only to be caught by the one and only Song Woo Bin.

"Chu Ga Eul, what are you doing making me rescue you like a damsel in distress that you are inside my house?" Woo Bin said with mischief in his eyes that never died even from years back.

Ga Eul scoffed at Woo Bin but allowed him to help her get back to her feet. She still slapped his hand away though. "Well _your_ son was making a mess in my kitchen! Again!"

Woo Bin grinned. "Well, young experimental genius. Growing kid. They should learn firsthand, you know."

"Don't give me a lecture about kids, Song Woo Bin."

"Of course, Miss Chu. Or do they still call you that?"

"What on earth did I see in you?"

"My dimples?" Woo Bin said and flashed her his non-existent dimples. "Oh wait. It was Yi Jeongie's dimples you liked. What did you say about them? _Like folded marshmallows_." Woo Bin clasped his hands beside his cheeks dramatically in his attempt to imitate Ga Eul complete with excessive eyelid batting.

"I have never said anything like that about Yi Jeong's-_sun_... Yi Jeong's dimples."

Woo Bin looked at her pointedly.

"Not in that manner. At least."

"Song Woo Bin: 8, Chu Ga Eul: 2. Boo-yah."

Ga Eul stuck her tongue at Woo Bin. "You're just jealous."

"At this man who still doesn't come home after ditching us for 4 years? I can't even call that guy a man!"

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "You of all people know why Yi Jeong went back to Sweden." She sighed. "I don't even want to talk to you right now."

"You'd rather talk to him, don't you?"

"I just talked to him a little while ago."

Woo Bin's ears perked up. "You did? What did you talk about?"

"Why should you know?" But after a few moments of thinking she didn't have anything to hide, she said, "Nothing much. Just the usual things."

"_Oh Yi Jeong-sunbae! My Yi Jeong-sunbae! Come back home because I miss you so!"_

Ga Eul glared at him. "That's it! No dinner for you tonight, mister."

"Aha! Insubordination in my house!" Woo Bin cried and pinched Ga Eul's cheek. "I'll show you who's boss, Chu Ga Eul."

Ga Eul scrunched her nose and pinched Woo Bin's cheeks too, harder than he was doing that he yelped and let go of her. She immediately scrambled away from him, like how Jung Shin must have done from her a while ago.

"This isn't finished, Chu Ga Eul!" Woo Bin yelled as he ran after Ga Eul. The two of them made circles in the living room, both not backing down.

Only when the door opened and there was a scream of "Omma!" did Ga Eul stop. Fortunately, Woo Bin tripped on his feet and fell face first on the floor, unable to reach Ga Eul.

"You did not pick my daughter up from school?!" Ga Eul asked the fallen Song.

"I told her I won't be able to pick her up," Woo Bin said as he tried to stand up on his own, not offered any help from his damsel in distress. "She was well-informed."

"Who on earth picked- Mi Sookie!" Ga Eul squealed as the young girl ran to her arms immediately. "Hi baby. How was school?"

"Amazing, as usual," Mi Sook said with brightness in her eyes Ga Eul always associated with the girl's father.

"Why don't I get a kiss?" Woo Bin asked and pretended to sulk after Mi Sook kissed Ga Eul. "What?" Woo Bin asked when he heard Ga Eul scoff. "I'm a good father, aren't I, Mi Sookie?"

Mi Sook didn't answer and instead rolled her eyes before turning to kiss Woo Bin, too.

"Okay, I'm hap- where do you think you're going young lady?" Woo Bin asked when Mi Sook suddenly ran away from the two of them. "We haven't had family time, yet."

"Room!" Mi Sook said as she bounded to the stairs to her room. "Packing!"

"Packing?!" Woo Bin cried. "Why? Is this another field trip?"

"No!"

"And I said, you're still too young to go on sleepovers."

"Not a sleepover!"

"You still have gained no permission from the master of the house!"

"You should, too, omma!" Mi Sook cried, ignoring Woo Bin completely and disappeared in her room with a loud shutting of the door.

"Rebellion!" Woo Bin was shouting. "Exactly like her mother! I will not tolerate rebellion in my house!"

"Shut up, Song Woo Bin," Ga Eul scolded him before running upstairs to her daughter's room.

"Mi Sookie," she knocked. "It's _omma_." When she thought she heard her daughter allowing her inside, she pushed open the door and found her little girl running all over the place with an open suitcase on the bed spilling all sorts of clothes and books. "_Aigoo_," Ga Eul said and sat on the bed to fold Mi Sook's clothes. "You know, in the end, I'll be the one fixing these."

Mi Sook was still busy going to and fro her shoe and clothes closet.

Ga Eul sighed and busied herself with separating the clothes for going out and staying in. "What is it this time? If you don't tell your _appa_ about this, he'll blow. You know how he is about overnights," Ga Eul was saying, but was still ignored by her daughter. "Mi Sook-ah. You do know that your _omma_ is talking to you, right?"

Mi Sook responded with a muffled grunt that was punctuated with the sound of a tower of boxes falling over each other. "I'm fine!" Mi Sook said before Ga Eul could stand up to help. "Don't come over omma. Shoe box problem. I can fix this. Just a moment."

Ga Eul sighed and contented herself with what she was originally doing. "What are the books for?" she asked when she reached for the books at the bottom of the pile of clothes. When Ga Eul expected manhwas or pocketbooks, she found something that made her suspicious. It was a Shin Hwa High School yearbook. "Are you doing some researches for the school paper again, Mi Sookie?"

"I earn from it, omma," her daughter cried from inside the closet. "I don't like always asking from you and appa."

"For goodness' sake, child. You're only 10."

When Mi Sook didn't answer anymore, Ga Eul opened the yearbook which eerily looked like hers. As she leafed through the pages, she was hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia. It was their batch's year book from way back when. Ga Eul couldn't even remember.

"Ah," Mi Sook sighed and took a seat beside her mother on the bed. "_Appa _needs to stop buying me new shoes."

"You're the only girl I know who would want anything like that," Ga Eul pinched her daughter's cheeks. "Look at Jung Shin. He has more shoes than you do. He doesn't complain."

"That's because Jung Shin's only 5," Mi Sook said and took the yearbook from her mother's hands. "The journalism club wants to make a commemoration article for your batch, since it's almost 25 years since you graduated."

Ga Eul shook her head. "It's been that long?"

"It's not hard. We only need to feature some notable graduates and what they're doing right now," Mi Sook said as she leafed through the pages. "Look! It's Aunt Jan Di! 'Life is a fighter. You must know how it kick its butt to win.' That is so like Aunt Jan Di," Mi Sook laughed and continued to look for someone familiar. "Aunt Jae Kyung!" Mi Sook pointed at another picture. "'Shades on, people. You're looking at a star.' Are all of you in this batch this corny?" Mi Sook sighed. "Oh, but I do love Aunt Jae Kyung. I love all the dresses she designs."

"Of course you do," Ga Eul said and poked her daughter in the tummy.

"Why aren't you here, _omma_?" Mi Sook frowned when they already reached the end of the pictures of graduates in the togas.

"Ah, there are separate pages for the notable students," Ga Eul said with pride in her voice. She turned to some of the first pages of the yearbook where a whole page was hers.

"You were the class valedictorian?" Mi Sook said, her voice in awe, and not actually surprised with her mother.

Ga Eul nodded.

"'_Never settle for something So-so. Aim for the greatest prize._'" Mi Sook read with a little struggle. "Wow, you're already this good in English that time. What does it mean?"

Ga Eul explained briefly, suppressing a smile. Her life motto contained an inside joke that only someone who knew Ga Eul then would understand.

"You have your full details here. Even your grades!" Mi Sook glared at her mom. "Show off." Ga Eul laughed and her daughter turned to the next page. "OMO! It's appa!" Mi Sook cried. "Why is he here? And the rest of the gang! I thought they were a batch older than you?"

Ga Eul frowned. "They were, but they were a special group. I think they were featured in the yearbooks until two years after this one. They're called the F4 then."

"Let me guess. They were the super popular super cool super rich super awesome kids then?"

"That's… an exaggeration but it's also a bit right."

"That means your story came straight from a manhwa!" Mi Sook cried. "You're a scholar, right, _omma_? Did appa hate you first, and bullied you but then you stood up to him and then he fell in love with you?"

Ga Eul laughed. "No. Your father and I were friends from the first time we met. Let's just say we had the same goals that time. That's your Aunt Jan Di's love story. It does sound like it came straight from a manhwa, doesn't it? What else have you been reading?"

Mi Sook stood up from her seat and ran to her table, opening drawers and notebooks and books until she found a bookmark. "How did you meet appa, then?" the little girl asked as she placed the bookmark in between the pages of the yearbook.

"Hm," Ga Eul thought. It had been so long. How long had it been that right now she's even relaying her love story to her own child? It had been so long but Ga Eul remembered everything clearly. Like it was yesterday. "We met from a mutual friend. The four of them, your uncles and your appa took care of me a lot then. Especially in college and after graduation."

"What was your major, then?" Mi Sook asked, as if already doing a professional interview. Ga Eul couldn't help feeling proud for her daughter.

"Languages."

"And appa was a Fine Arts Major."

Ga Eul nodded. "Two of the F4 were Fine Arts Major. One was a Music Major and the other one was a Business Major."

Mi Sook's eyes lit up. "That's Uncle Jun Pyo!"

"Perceptive," Ga Eul grinned. "That's right."

Mi Sook turned her attention back to the yearbook and began reading an excerpt from the F4 feature. "'These four young men are outstanding in everything they do and are well-known all over the country. Each of them have their own official fans' club that celebrated…' Omma, were you part of _appa_'s fans' club?"

"Er… no," Ga Eul said, feeling herself blush a bit.

"But you know _so_ much about the F4…"

"Everyone knows a lot about the F4. Ask your Aunt Jan Di and Jae Kyung. Even some random stranger who looks like my age," Ga Eul added when she saw Mi Sook about to argue about her stand. "I was part of the Baking Club, though. And I was vice-president of the Student Council. I had very little time in my hands to be joining those kinds of clubs."

"Is that why you were only an inactive member of the club?"

Ga Eul blushed red and turned to her daughter's door where So Yi Jeong was standing.

"AHA! I knew your part of _appa_'s fans' club!" Mi Sook said as she stood up and ran to her father's side.

Ga Eul glared at the person she idolized back when she was young and she didn't know much about the world who was now her husband. "You're back. You didn't even tell me."

"Would that even be a surprise anymore?" Yi Jeong said as he walked up to Ga Eul and kissed her cheek. "I picked up Mi Sook from school, too."

"And I want to sell some of my shoes. I want to buy a bike so you won't have to pick me up, anymore," Mi Sook said.

"You're growing up a little too fast," Yi Jeong said and he kissed his daughter's forehead. "Why were you talking about my fans' club?" Yi Jeong said and smirked at Ga Eul who stuck out her tongue at him.

"I will be doing a feature about the notable graduates of your high school and omma was helping. How did you meet omma?"

Yi Jeong looked at Ga Eul first as if asking permission first, but she just looked at him with a threatening gaze so he went on. "She was the Swedish and English tutor of my ex," he said which earned a gasp and tons of follow up questions from Mi Sook. "Shush, do you want to hear the story or not?"

Mi Sook mimed zipping her mouth and nodded at her father to continue.

"But appa was a bad person then. He couldn't stay put and he liked a lot of other girls."

A gasp and another wave of questions before Yi Jeong looked pointedly at his daughter and she said, "I'll shut up, now."

"So appa's ex, Eun Jae…"

"Eun Jae as in Aunt Eun Jae as in Uncle Il Hyun's wife?" Mi Sook gasped again, to which Yi Jeong nodded.

Ga Eul placed her face on her hands and said, "This is a bad idea."

"I didn't know my family tree was this complicated," Mi Sook noted.

"It's going to get more complicated," Yi Jeong assured her. "Aunt Eun Jae went to Sweden to soul-search. And since I didn't know Swedish, guess who tutored me then?"

"OMMA!" Mi Sook cried.

"That's right. You're pretty excited for a 10 year old listening to her parents' love story."

"I'm not an ordinary 10-year old. I'm a So!" So Mi Sook said proudly to which both her parents laughed.

"Alright then, So Mi Sook. Your omma and your uncles tortured your appa as he studied Swedish."

"WE DID NO-"

"Then I followed Aunt Eun Jae to Sweden to get her heart back. Obviously, that didn't work out as planned. But then, I thought, since I'm already in Sweden, might as well make my stay worth it. I continued my study and even took my Masters there. While back at home, your omma went through a phase where she even had three boyfriends tha-"

"So Yi Jeong…"

"Shhhh, omma, we're getting to the good part," Mi Sook frowned at her mother.

"Anyway, when appa came back, suddenly, Uncle Woo Bin and your omma were dating!" Mi Sook gasped again, but did not ask any more questions. "It turned out that they were only making appa jealous because appa didn't know he was already in love with omma then. They were actually making plans and experiments on how they would get Aunt Jae Kyung for your Uncle Woo Bin. Then in the end, because your omma is a genius, all of her plans worked out and everyone had their happily ever after."

Mi Sook stood up from her father's lap and began clapping her hands. "Wow! That is the one of the most complicated love stories I've ever heard!" she cried.

"Alright, big girl. Let's not talk about this anymore," Yi Jeong said and smiled at Ga Eul who was already looking murderously at him. "Are you done packing?"

"Oh, you told her to pack? What for?" Ga Eul said, her mother senses tingling.

"What else? We're moving, omma!" Mi Sook jumped up and down. "We're going to have our own house from now on! No more living with that Song brat."

"Now, Mi Sookie, that's not a good way to talk about Jung Shin," Ga Eul said.

"He's like his father, isn't he?" Yi Jeong chuckled. "Can you do your packing on your own, Mi Sook?"

"Yes, appa!"

Yi Jeong took Ga Eul's wrist like how she did years ago when she lead him to a rooftop where dreams ended and started. When they reached their rented room in the Song Mansion, Yi Jeong turned to his wife and kissed her. "I missed you, fangirl," he said with the playful glint in his eyes that he passed on to Mi Sook.

"You're evil, _sunbae_," Ga Eul said but still hugged her husband. "When are we moving?"

"Tonight," he answered, not breaking their embrace.

"Woo Bin's going to miss my cooking, then."

"He has a chef, you know. I need my wife to cook for me," Yi Jeong said.

They stayed silent for a while until Ga Eul asked. "Are you staying for good, now?"

Yi Jeong nodded. "We already have earnings for us to last for decades," he sighed. "But not in the luxury I originally wanted you to have."

Ga Eul laughed. "Mi Sook is complaining about her number of shoes and you think that's not luxurious enough?"

Yi Jeong was about to argue when Ga Eul stopped him, "I just want you here with me, and I know everything's going to be alright." Yi Jeong only laughed at his wife's sentiments. "I have you. I'm already living the dream, _sunbae_."

She always called him _sunbae_ when she wanted to tease him. When he first came back, he'd been stubborn enough not to call her with her usual nickname _Ga Eul-yang_. It had been trouble then, but now it had already been her form of endearment. He couldn't complain. He looked at her eyes and said "Me, too."

**-fin-**

A/N: This fic was supposed to be originally up to 3 chapters only, but I realized, I don't know how to summarize everything I want to write in 3 chapters. Haha. Every chapter after chapter 2, I write so I can end the story, but I can't... Finally, though! Here is the ending, as promised. I hope this update made up for all those lousy ones in the past and I want to thank each and every reader of the fic. Thank you thank you so much. I'll try to finish up Reset as well, before doing other projects that I probably won't be able to finish in the future. haha.

Special thanks to jayjayzek and Cari-Bum who were the most frequent reviewers, and to every reviewer because your reviews melt my heart. Thank you thank you thank you.

And yeah, even though I am officially a Jae Rim x So Eun shipper now, I realized that So Eun is not Ga Eul, if you understand what I mean. Haha. That is all. Thanks again, and I hope to see you guys again soon.

xo, sweetheartbreaker


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